Professor Kieran Murphy:

I regret that Senator Crown feels that my previous answer was less than expansive. Clearly, the Government has decided to introduce legislation, underpinned by regulations. In so far as the introduction of legislation and regulations provides clarity for doctors to ensure that they can best protect patients, the council clearly welcomes that approach.

On the Senator's second question about consensus or otherwise, the council speaks with a collective voice. The council comprises 25 members. There is a lay majority of members of the council. Members of the committee might not be aware of this but our council is the only regulatory authority in the world that has a lay majority. Of the 25 members of the council, 12 are medical members and 13 are lay members, so there is a lay majority. As with every group in society, each group attracts the variety of opinion that is consistent with our society. Like in this committee, the Medical Council comprises many different views. Nevertheless, the council has agreed on a consensus view, which is the submission it has made to the committee today.

On Deputy Kelleher's question about conscientious objection, I refer him to our current guidance on the issue in paragraph 6.9. Our current guidance, at 10.1, is that as a doctor one must not allow one's personal moral standards to influence one's treatment of patients. Paragraph 10.2 states that if one has a conscientious objection to a course of action, one should explain this to the patient and make the names of other doctors available to the patient. Paragraph 10.3 states that conscientious objection does not absolve one from responsibility to a patient in emergency situations.

We heard Ms Luddy acknowledge earlier this morning that a great deal of work must be done on policy before work is done on refining regulations. The council is very keen to engage actively with the Department to ensure that these issues are teased out and refined in the regulations that are produced.