I object to the direction taken in the proposed standard of practice for conscientious objection. If I was a doctor, and invested so much of my life toward this worthy pursuit to help humanity when they are in times of greatest need, I would be devastated and terribly frustrated to be forced to facilitate a patient receiving a medical treatment option that I know is not best for the patient and hold to be morally wrong. In terms of hockey, which Canadians understand, it is like giving an assist to the opposing team that results in a goal. But now the game is good versus evil. The result is life and death sometimes! This document will force professionals to be complicit in murder! This is a heavy burden to place on the conscience of anyone, but this document will mandate it!! I say no. We need people of principle and moral strength in our hospitals and clinics. They are the people who are invested in health care because they care and not because of political agendas or personal gain. They will work harder and not just put in time. I wish for a doctor whose values align with my own, for then there is greater trust and understanding. Especially with an eye to the government’s plans to extend MAiD to those with mental illness, this is the WRONG direction to take!! If I were your committee, I would improve the conscientious standards of doctors given our current climate of abortion and MAiD and gender transitioning. Do you want to hold on to doctors or lose them! Do you want to attract new doctors or push them away? The future of the availability of doctors in our province (I just lost mine!) would be damaged by this proposed document. This will harm many more people than a few who don’t get a referral for an ethically questionable service. In a time when our medical system is struggling to get people timely care with an MRI or cancer treatment, this is not a document for retaining doctors. ‘Timely” is a vague word that is hard to achieve in our current hospital situation. Perhaps you (the one who gets to read these letters - thank you!) don’t agree with my moral position, but in our province, there are many who do. I ask that our perspective also be represented in the doctors who serve in Alberta. Perhaps you can at least agree that diversity of thought is important in a free country. Government (or medical institutions) should never be muzzling debate and personal opinions - freedom of conscientious and speech must be maintained and fought for, or freedom dies. Citizens who understand freedom will be respectful of this. Thank you for the opportunity to read this proposed document and offer feedback.