Reason Party leader Fiona Patten will introduce a bill into state parliament this week that would remove the right of hospitals that receive any taxpayer funding to refuse to offer reproductive health services and voluntary assisted dying due to 'corporate conscientious objection'.
Victorian crossbench MP Fiona Patten is looking to compel taxpayer-funded religious hospitals to provide abortions, contraceptive treatment and end-of-life options.Reason Party leader Fiona Patten says imposing faith in hospitals results in women being denied the health services they needCatholic hospital Mercy Health says it values the dignity of life from conception to death
Fiona Patten singled out Mercy Health as an example of a religious hospital network that received public funding but withheld contraception and abortion services. Private hospitals that did not receive any public funding would not be affected if the bill was adopted, nor would individual practitioners.
"The Victorian government already has the most progressive laws in the nation when it comes to supporting women exercising their reproductive rights," Ms Thomas said. "We aim to do no harm, to relieve pain, to provide compassionate care for the whole person and to never abandon those in our care."
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