Or should GP surgery's not be allowed to advertise themselves as 'pro-life'?

That's awful

But to reiterate - they aren’t blocking any services so this statement is clearly just to assert the fact they will judge women requesting these services - it’s a nasty, passive aggressive pointless thing to do.

I guess all the doctors in this practice are anti abortion? Otherwise, they would direct all patients to the one(s) who isn't/aren't

I dunno. My friend had this experience. Baby had stopped growing at 17/18 weeks I think it was, they went on and on about an abortion even after she had been clear that she wasn’t going to do that. It was a massively traumatic time for her and that aspect made her very uncomfortable. They were clear that they didn’t trust her judgment and felt she was making a mistake or taking an “unnecessary risk”.

That baby is a healthy five year old now, by the way.

@FOJN "If they have an obligation to refer women seeking termination then they do not need to state their position on abortion.

It's advertising their ideological position on an aspect of healthcare, that is not neutral and therefore not professional and should not be tolerated."

This really is the crux of the matter. A doctor has no obligation to perform abortions. He or she does have an obligation to refer a patient to someone who does in a completely non judgemental way.

Signposting it clearly means they shouldn't use the coy term 'pro-life' and use plain English

They need to use the phrase 'forced birth'

"We believe in forced birth meaning that if you are pregnant you must continue to give birth whether it will risk the life and health of you, your foetus or others.

Please don't ask for us any further support on preventing this situation because we will not provide it"

People have strong feelings on abortion either way.

It's far better that this is recognised and there are routes and policies that accommodate these views in clinicians and obligate them to refer patients elsewhere than have to act against their principles and potentially not do so properly. Say, by persuading vulnerable patients against their initial decision (either intentionally or by being uncomfortable making referrals and dissuading the patient without meaning to).

Far better that they have a simple obligation to say 'ring this number'

Re the job, it is legal. I think they're being transparent about it. Perhaps you could call and ask how it works in practice, ensuring that patients, particularly vulnerable patients, access the services they need (in line with their own beliefs) without oversight from the GP. If you'd prefer to work somewhere without those policies that's understandable. I'd ask tactfully, because you've never come across the policy.

I strongly disagree. Of course they are allowed opinions, and of course no one should be forced to do a job that conflicts with their ethics. But if their religion / belief puts an obstacle in the path of a potentially vulnerable woman accessing healthcare, then don't be an NHS GP.

If they have an obligation to refer women seeking termination then they do not need to state their position on abortion.

It's advertising their ideological position on an aspect of healthcare, that is not neutral and therefore not professional and should not be tolerated.

I think it's good they advertise this way. It might save women the run around or a difficult experience if they know before even making an appointment.

Being pro-choice to me also means allowing for people to have different values. I fully support doctors and other professionals having the choice over participating in services that are contrary to their personal consciences. As long as they are professional in how they carry that out and make the referrals to someone who will refer as required.

I would refuse to participate in an abortion in a professional context. I don't mind what the woman does but I have to sleep at night too. If she is comfortable, fine. I don't have to be.

This is disgusting. Yes individual doctors should be able to hold a ‘pro-life’ opinion, but to advertise the whole GP service that way? How is that allowed?

Everyone is pro-life. This GP is anti-choice and not a provider of women's healthcare.

I am pro-choice, and in fact find the term pro-life offensive. They mean anti-choice. It's crazy to me that GPs are allowed to choose what healthcare they think is allowable.

I had a really horrible and traumatic experience with a GP when pg though, that was the opposite of this. I had hyperemesis and was hoping to be prescribed anti-sickness meds, as I had in a previous pg. The GP asked me if I'd considered abortion. I said that it wasn't a consideration for this pg, that we wanted the baby and were in a good position to care for it. But she pressed and pressed, asking me if I thought termination was akin to killing, etc etc. I told her I didn't believe that at all and that women should feel free to choose, but she went on about it. I was quite upset about that, because I agreed with her stance but not the way she went about it.

It’s either some kind of wording mistake (which would make them stupid to not know the offence it would cause!) or they mean they aren’t restricting services but you would then know they are judging you which is unecessary and unprofessional .

It clearly says they will refer for termination.

Many gp surgeries do not offer those services in my area it’s all done at the sexual health clinics the gp just refers. So they aren’t actually doing anything different they don’t even need that ‘pro life’ statement for any reason other than to draw attention to something as it’s not affecting the level of care they offer ?

That's outrageous. It's one thing being able to opt out of performing abortions, it's quite another to refuse treatment for someone with medical needs because you don't like something they have done. That absolutely should be illegal.

Beliefs don't trump scientific evidence.

You cannot force people to act against their beliefs in any circumstances. We aren’t Russia, we aren’t Afghanistan, we aren’t North Korea. You cannot have a society where we actively encourage difference of opinions then tell people ‘no, not your opinion, that doesn’t count’. What we do have is an NHS system whereby women can access abortion services in different ways. Fortunately, we don’t live in a country where abortion is illegal in the vast majority of cases.

I wouldn’t want to work there. Doctoring is not about inflicting your views on your patients.
I’d be running that job ad past the GMC for advice as well.

Possibly they're all Christian but they're certainly not all the same cultural background.

I think ask them. Drs do not have to refer for TOP but they can provide details of somewhere that can so that will be provided.
It's an odd thing to put re natural death - we all care until natural death !! Euthanasia isn't legal in the uk and even if it were it wouldn't be GPs doing it!! Maybe it reflects the patient population queries or something ??

That's terrible. The surgery the OP is talking about is in an urban area at least with other surgeries around.

I did think reading it - “resolution of a missed miscarriage” would have been clear enough.
It’s effectively the same procedure as an abortion. Medically it was called an evacuation of retained products of contraception when I had one and I think that’s not really much better in terms of a sensitive description 😕

They don't offer the MAP, or the IUD (many GPs don't do the latter tbf). They just refer you on. And they'll refer you on for abortion requests.

"We provide advice on the risks and benefits of all methods of contraception. We provide the oral contraceptive pill (both combined and mini-pill) and the contraceptive injection.
We will refer patients to the appropriate service provider for contraceptive implants, intrauterine devices, emergency contraception and requests for termination of pregnancy."

I'm all for the general public being allowed to have an opinion, but I think if a Doctor wants to say they are pro life, then they shouldn't be an NHS GP. This isn't about religion, opinions, morals - if you want that talk to a Priest. This is about healthcare paid for by the tax payer.