NHS Fife suspended student midwife over religious belief

[SidewaysOtter]

Jesus, who the hell is running this binfire of an NHS trust?

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/student-midwife-suspended-from-training-over-pro-life-beliefs-dc6sgbqnb

Diagnosing that a pregnancy has become a threat to the mother is part of the job. Counseling a woman who is considering a termination by choice and signposting her to services is part of the job. A midwife might not personally need to perform a termination, but I don’t see how someone can be pro-life and perform the job adequately.

sometimes our personal beliefs mean we simply aren’t capable of doing a job. We all have lines we won’t cross. A vegan wouldn’t take a job at a meat processing plant or a butcher shop. This is a place where I think laws carving out special provisions for certain beliefs are wrong.

Likewise someone who is very pro-choice could be said to be unable to appropriately counsel a women who is pro-life. My cousin is generally pro-life in her personal belief relating to her own pregnancies. The midwife/doctor involved in her care were very pro-choice and their attitude towards her on diagnosing Down’s left my cousin hugely distressed. There was no way she would abort a baby for being Down’s and was incredibly offended by the suggestions that she should or that it was even an option.

It undermined her trust in her whole care team during a high risk pregnancy with a neonate in need of a higher level of care.

Well said. The midwife in this case has gone out of her way to say she would not impose her beliefs on patients. There is no reason to disbelieve her. The question is are there any aspects of the job she can opt out of - if not, then the job isn't for her but it seems in this case she can opt out of actually performing abortions herself? It's not the primary role of a midwife I don't think? There is no suggestion she wouldn't signpost women needing an abortion elsewhere.

I think it's fine for people with prochoice or prolife views to do these jobs, where those beliefs affect the patient (as in AshKeys example) is where a problem arises.

I would want this midwife over AshKeys cousin's* *team because they imo were not pro-choice but pro-abortion in a eugenics way so not what a woman with child with a possible prebirth issue needs.

Diagnosing that a pregnancy has become a threat to the mother is part of the job.

Thats not usually an issue as the death of the mother kills the child anyway. And a midwife would should) refer that onto a wider medical team.

Counseling a woman who is considering a termination by choice and signposting her to services is part of the job.

Is imo is a management problem. Its unlikely the counseling is fundemental part of the job as in the UK it still has to be routed through the "specialist" service. So unless the employee is not willing to signpost the employer just needs to have a standing instruction that the employee calls in their manager or appropiate staff.

I agree Tempest. The idea that people can disagree with whatever the 'right-think' is on a topic, but that they cannot express it is really dangerous. It is important that people can vocalise or write their thoughts. Free speech (but not including incitement of violence) is a vital part of democracy IMO.