(2) whether medical students are required to undertake duties involving termination of pregnancy as part of their training; whether section 4 of the Abortion Act 1967 applies in such circumstances; and if she will make a statement;
(3) what research has been (a) funded and (b) carried out by her Department into discrimination against (i) medical students and (ii) trainee doctors who have a conscientious objection to abortion in the last five years; and if she will make a statement;
(4) what monitoring of the guidance issued by the Chief Medical Officer in 1989 on appointment of consultants: termination of pregnancy, that no reference to termination of pregnancy duties is to be made in a job advertisement for a new consultant, her Department has (a) undertaken since 2006 and (b) plans to undertake in the next 12 months; and if she will make a statement.
The Department last issued guidance in 1994 in Health Service Guidelines HSG(94)39 ‘Appointment of doctors to hospital posts: termination of pregnancy’. These guidelines updated the guidance issued by the Chief Medical Officer in 1989. Copies are available in the Library.
The Department checks job advertisements for hospital posts that might involve abortion on a regular basis. In addition, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists checks the job advertisements and reviews every job description. The guideline states if certain conditions have been satisfied, reference to termination of pregnancy should be included in the job description for career posts.
Section 4 of the Abortion Act 1967 allows doctors to opt out of participating in any treatment for abortion to which they have a conscientious objection. As such, medical students are not required to undertake termination of pregnancy as part of their training but they are taught theory and implications of the Abortion Act.
The House of Lords ruled in 1988 that this exemption does not extend to giving advice, performing the preparatory steps to arrange an abortion where the request meets legal requirements and undertaking administration connected with abortion procedures.
No research has been funded or carried out by the Department in the last five years on discrimination against medical students or trainee doctors who have a conscientious objection to abortion. We have no plans to do so as we have no evidence to suggest that this is an issue.