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HEALTH

Doctors can’t opt out of abortion duties: ministry

All doctors must be prepared to refer patients to abortion clinics even if the wilful termination of a pregnancy runs counter to their own beliefs, Norway’s health ministry has confirmed.

Published: 14 February 2012 10:09 CET
Updated: 14 February 2012 17:15 CET
Doctors can't opt out of abortion duties: ministry
Robin Kåss (Photo: Arbeidarpartiet)

The issue flared in October after the ministry issued a circular informing general physicians that they cannot under any circumstances decline to carry out or recommend treatments to which they are personally opposed for religious or ethical reasons. As examples, the ministry cited abortion, as well as fertility treatments for lesbian couples.

Some 170 physicians reacted by signing a petition protesting against the terms of the circular. They were joined in their objections by around 30 medical students and 60 other healthcare workers.

But the health ministry has vowed not to budge on the issue, Christian newspaper Vårt Land reports.

“Doctors have to be ready to do their duty. There are plenty of duties for physicians working in the municipalities and at hospitals that don’t involve abortion referrals,” said Robin Kåss (Labour Party), secretary of state at the health ministry.

Kåss told news agency NTB that the department had also occasionally encountered doctors who refused to prescribe contraceptive medicines.

“If you’re a pacifist, you can’t work as a police officer. If you refuse to perform a blood transfusion, you can’t be a surgeon. If you deny a patient contraception or a referral for an abortion, you can’t be a general physician,” said Kåss.

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HEALTH

Lengthy waiting times at Danish hospitals not going away yet: minister

Danish Minister for the Interior and Health Sophie Løhde has warned that, despite increasing activity at hospitals, it will be some time before current waiting lists are reduced.

Published: 10 May 2023 15:09 CEST
Lengthy waiting times at Danish hospitals not going away yet: minister

The message comes as Løhde was set to meet with officials from regional health authorities on Wednesday to discuss the progress of an acute plan for the Danish health system, launched at the end of last year in an effort to reduce a backlog of waiting times which built up during the coronavirus crisis.

An agreement with regional health authorities on an “acute” spending plan to address the most serious challenges faced by the health services agreed in February, providing 2 billion kroner by the end of 2024.

READ ALSO: What exactly is wrong with the Danish health system?

The national organisation for the health authorities, Danske Regioner, said to newspaper Jyllands-Posten earlier this week that progress on clearing the waiting lists was ahead of schedule.

Some 245,300 operations were completed in the first quarter of this year, 10 percent more than in the same period in 2022 and over the agreed number.

Løhde said that the figures show measures from the acute plan are “beginning to work”.

“It’s positive but even though it suggests that the trend is going the right way, we’re far from our goal and it’s important to keep it up so that we get there,” she said.

“I certainly won’t be satisfied until waiting times are brought down,” she said.

“As long as we are in the process of doing postponed operations, we will unfortunately continue to see a further increase [in waiting times],” Løhde said.

“That’s why it’s crucial that we retain a high activity this year and in 2024,” she added.

Although the government set aside 2 billion kroner in total for the plan, the regional authorities expect the portion of that to be spent in 2023 to run out by the end of the summer. They have therefore asked for some of the 2024 spending to be brought forward.

Løhde is so far reluctant to meet that request according to Jyllands-Posten.

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