{"id":275667,"date":"2022-09-09T06:45:03","date_gmt":"2022-09-09T11:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=275667"},"modified":"2022-09-08T13:43:34","modified_gmt":"2022-09-08T18:43:34","slug":"california-cannot-force-doctors-participate-assisted-suicide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/california-cannot-force-doctors-participate-assisted-suicide\/","title":{"rendered":"Court rules California cannot force doctors to participate in assisted suicide"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Part of California’s assisted suicide law has been struck down by a federal judge, who ruled it was unconstitutional to force doctors in the state to participate.<\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge Fernando Aenlle-Rocha said<\/a> it was not acceptable for the law to require doctors with religious or moral objections to record a patient’s request for assisted suicide, and refer them to another physician. Aenlle-Rocha’s decision said this violates their freedom of speech, and essentially requires them to take part in their patients’ deaths.<\/p>\n

A group of doctors with the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA) filed a lawsuit<\/a> in February challenging that portion of the law, and asking this summer that the law be blocked while the court considers the suit. CMDA, along with Dr. Leslee Cochrane, was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).<\/p>\n

\u201cOur clients seek to give their patients the best possible healing care, including comfort and dignity, until natural death occurs,\u201d ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot said in a statement in July. \u201cThe Christian physicians we represent have personal religious convictions and professional ethics that oppose the practice of assisted suicide, and it\u2019s illegal for the state of California to force these doctors to participate in this practice. We urge the court to stop this irreparable harm while our lawsuit moves forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0California drops assisted suicide waiting period to just 48 hours<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The law had required California doctors unwilling to write prescriptions for lethal assisted suicide drugs to tell the patient that they refuse, note it in the patient\u2019s medical record, and then offer to transfer the patient to a doctor favorable to assisted suicide. The requirement to note the patient\u2019s request qualifies as the first of two legally mandated requests, even with the doctor’s opposition to the procedure. Opponents have said the law prevents them from providing proper palliative care and medical help to those patients who need it most, in addition to violating<\/a> their belief in the sanctity of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ultimate outcome of this requirement is that non-participating providers are compelled to participate in the Act through this documentation requirement, despite their objections to assisted suicide,” Aenlle-Rocha wrote, adding that doctors \u201chave demonstrated they are likely to suffer a violation of a constitutional right absent an injunction,\u201d and that \u201cthey are likely to succeed on their Free Speech claim\u201d because the documentation requirement under SB 380 \u201cexceeds merely managing medical records\u2014it imposes an affirmative documentation requirement.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement<\/a>, Theriot celebrate the ruling as a victory for doctors across California.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur clients seek to live out their faith in their medical practice, and that includes valuing every human life entrusted to their care. Participating in physician-assisted suicide very clearly would violate their consciences,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re pleased the court followed the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s decision in NIFLA v. Becerra that clarified First Amendment protections extend to religious medical professionals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike\u201d Live Action News on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0for more pro-life news and commentary!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part of California’s assisted suicide law has been struck down by a federal judge, who ruled it was unconstitutional to force doctors in the state to participate. U.S. District Judge Fernando Aenlle-Rocha said it was not acceptable for the law to require doctors with religious or moral objections to record a patient’s request for assisted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":241684,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3473,11],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nCourt rules California cannot force doctors to participate in assisted suicide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"U.S. District Judge Fernando Aenlle-Rocha said it was not acceptable for the law to require doctors with religious or moral objections to participate.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/california-cannot-force-doctors-participate-assisted-suicide\/\" \/>\n<meta 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