Medics should not report suspected illegal abortions to police, say doctors
news.sky.com
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists will remind healthcare workers of their duty to maintain patient confidentiality in new guidance, which is yet to be published.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists will remind healthcare workers of their duty to maintain patient confidentiality in new guidance, which is yet to be published.

Medics should not report suspected cases of illegal abortion to the police, leading women’s doctors are set to say.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is expected to publish new guidance that it is “never” in the public interest to share information about suspected illegal abortions.

It comes after high-profile prosecutions, including that of Bethany Cox, who was accused of using poison for an at-home abortion in 2020.

  • Kidplayer_666@lemm.eeEnglish
    39·
    10 months ago

    For me it should be treated the same way if someone showed up clearly after drunk driving and had an accident. The same way if a doctor suspected of anything illegal in his patients. Idk how it’s handled legally, but it should be consistent

    • noodlejetski@lemm.eeEnglish
      7·
      10 months ago

      that varies across the countries. where I live, a doctor must not reveal anything the patient has told them during a visit/medical procedure/etc., with the only exception being when there’s a risk of a future harm. so a doctor can’t report the patient has admitted to having murdered someone, but should report if they say they’re about to.

      • Ranvier@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        6·
        10 months ago

        For the United States, it’s not even just some risk of future harm. The standard is much stricter, it’s if “a provider determines that there is a serious and imminent threat of a patient physically harming self or others.” Has to be something very specific and imminent for confidentiality to be breached.

        There are a few more edge cases though, for instance doctors and other healthcare workers are usually mandatory reporters by law, so if they suspect child abuse they are legally obligated to report it. Another one is for infectious disease tracking and reporting, there may also be confidentiality exceptions.

        • noodlejetski@lemm.eeEnglish
          3·
          10 months ago

          if “a provider determines that there is a serious and imminent threat of a patient physically harming self or others”

          yeah, pretty much the same, I’m just not that eloquent in English :P

          there’s a similar clause with some infectious diseases if I remember correctly, and I’m honestly not sure how’s the suspected child abuse handled, but probably the same.