Two senior counsel have advised the Medical Council that it needs to provide proper notice of intended changes to its ethical guidelines on abortion, according to confidential documents seen by The Irish Times.
The council has been advised that controversial motions it approved to terminate pregnancy in the case of a "non-viable foetus" and when there is "real and substantial risk to the life of the mother" were invalid.
Mr Kevin Feeney SC expressed the opinion that "the council should err on the side of caution and provide its members with notice of the proposals to be considered at a future meeting".
Referring to the agenda of the meeting of May 30th, Mr Peter Charleton SC noted that the matter included in the agenda was "a discussion". He stated: "If the matter is a specific proposal, it needs to be put on the agenda in that form, i.e. a particular proposal if there is to be a reversal of, or change in, a [ethical] guideline adopted under the standing orders as a committee report."
Mr Charleton also referred to the previous council's decision to adopt a report from its ethics committee before revising the 1998 ethical guidelines. "Having delegated, under Section 13 of the Medical Practitioners Act 1978, questions as to ethics to a specific committee set up for that purpose, a specific motion is necessary to remove any aspect of it from that original delegation".
The 1998 ethical guidelines on reproductive medicine state: "The deliberate and intentional destruction of the unborn child is professional misconduct. Should a child in utero lose its life as a side effect of standard medical treatment of the mother, then this is not unethical. Refusal by a doctor to treat a woman with a serious illness because she is pregnant would be grounds for complaint and could be considered to be professional misconduct."
Mr Charleton's opinion states that, for this guideline to be properly changed, one of the following options must be pursued: "a) The Medical Council could await the completion of the sixth edition of the Ethical Guide; b) The ethics committee, at the council's request, could review the current guidelines and report back to council. The council could then consider, and vote, if necessary, on a duly notified specific proposal; c) The council could resolve to withdraw from the ethics committee its delegated authority and then consider, perhaps after research and consultation, and vote, if necessary, on a duly notified specific proposal."
The Irish Times has also learned that the Medical Council voted against a proposal to engage in a wider consultation among doctors during a recent debate on changing its ethical guidelines on abortion. At the meeting three weeks ago the council voted against the motion "That the Medical Council consult the profession and the professional bodies, as had been the practice heretofore."
The president of the Medical Council, Prof Gerard Bury, has told The Irish Times that it plans to deal with the ethical issues surrounding abortion at a meeting in September. It is expected that a motion to empower the entire council membership to deal with the substantive issue of abortion will be tabled for this meeting. A proposal to establish a cross-speciality expert group with representatives from outside the Medical Council will also be considered.
At its meeting last Wednesday, each member of the council was asked to give a formal commitment not to discuss "work in progress" with the media.
A new Medical Practitioners Act is due before the Oireachtas later this year. The Freedom of Information Act will also be extended to cover Medical Council proceedings.