Professor Richard Huxtable:

I thank the Deputy. I have several observations. I hurriedly did my homework and found the source of the legal case regarding the secretary and the abortion referral letter that I mentioned earlier. It was a 1989 case, Janaway v. Salford Health Authority. The headline of the ruling, which, notably, was handed down quite some time ago, was that the conscientious objection available under the Abortion Act in England and Wales was to be applied only to persons directly involved in the provision of the abortion procedure. I admit that the case law may have moved on, but this is the case I recall. In that instance, it was quite a narrowly-drawn right to conscientious objection. As we are speaking about professionals in the plural, all of whom might have their own professional views and their own personal consciences, and they may well differ on this important question, I would invite the committee to give thought to how far the right to conscientiously object should extend. Beyond this, the committee should consider whether further safeguards in respect of conscientious objection will be needed.

One encounters remarks occasionally in the legal and ethical commentaries to the effect that there is somewhat of a quelling effect on people's careers. I confess that I do not have the data on this. It may well be that other witnesses would be better placed to furnish it to the Deputy. It is a sense that failure to perform a procedure that is legally permitted, and is the right of the patient, might well lead to some curtailment of employment or career prospects.

Deputy Farrell asked a direct question about sanctions and whether abortion provision might be the right model. I confess I do not know in detail whether that would be right but I broadly think, if we refer back to the observations made by Dr. Mills earlier, that we will always have the homicide law in the background so that would certainly be one avenue. There will need to be careful thought given to the process and procedural irregularities, whether there should be penalties, and whether those penalties should be criminal or should involve some form of professional sanction. It is not a concrete answer, but I suggest that to ensure the law is respected and has integrity, there will need to be a suite of sanctions to cover various sorts of wrongdoing.