Email your MLA to demand secularism in healthcare | Secularism

Email your MLA to demand secularism in healthcare

Through its Master Agreement with religious healthcare facilities, the Government of British Columbia allows some hospitals to 'opt-out' of providing patients with procedures that they're legally entitled too.

This means your right to MAID or an abortion is subject to the whims of Catholic Bishops and not the rule of law.

It's time to end the religious opt-out.

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Subject:

I am writing to you today as a concerned resident to urgently call for the end of the master agreement that allows religious healthcare facilities to refuse to provide medically assisted dying or reproductive healthcare services. It is crucial that we ensure equal access to healthcare for everyone, regardless of their personal beliefs or the religious affiliations of the institutions they seek assistance from.

The recently announced VCH clinic that will be connected to St Paul's Hospital to facility for MAID does little to alleviate my concerns. It still puts the beliefs of the board of Providence Healthcare ahead of the patients and healthcare workers at the Hospital. It does nothing for those at other religious hospices and it still permits Providence to refuse to provide reproductive healthcare.

The Supreme Court of Canada has established that the government has a duty of religious neutrality. This duty is undermined when religious groups are able to deny patients their rights in publicly funded facilities. It is imperative that individuals have the autonomy to make informed decisions about their own bodies and lives, without facing unnecessary barriers due to the religious beliefs of the leaders of these facilities.

As we have seen through recent reports, the current agreement is forcing people in suffering to endure gruelling transfers. It separates patients from their community and often forces them out of their home to access healthcare. And it violates the rights of clinicians who support MAID and reproductive healthcare.

The overwhelming majority of British Columbians, including those with religious faith, support the availability of these services and oppose these special exemptions for religious facilities. It is incumbent upon you to take action in ensuring that our healthcare system respects and supports the diverse needs and beliefs of our population.

I urge you to use your influence and voice to advocate for the termination of the master agreement that protects religious healthcare facilities' right to deny MAID and reproductive healthcare. I strongly believe that everyone should have equitable access to the full range of healthcare services, regardless of where they seek care.

I appreciate your attention to this matter and trust that you will consider the importance of this issue in shaping a fair and inclusive healthcare system for all residents of British Columbia. I look forward to hearing about your efforts in addressing this pressing concern.

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