Letters: College wrong to discipline doctor for anti-abortion advice

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We were taught in medical school that pregnant patients represent two lives: the mother and her developing fetus. Any medical decision must consider the well-being of both. Modern medicine’s advancements, including in-utero surgery, underscore the fetus’s distinct status as a patient.

Even ancient medical ethics recognized this dual responsibility. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, forbade abortion and medical societies considered harming either patient grounds for a physician to lose their practice. This principle held true for centuries.

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Yet, we now learn that a conscientious doctor in Saskatchewan faces discipline for considering the well-being of his second patient, the fetus.

This action by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan seems driven by society’s recent devaluation of life and spiritual emptiness and not from any failure of medical ethics by the good doctor.

Doctors often need to deliver difficult messages to patients for their own good. Patients who disagree are free to seek a second opinion.

However, the college is forcing this doctor to compromise his medical judgment and conscience. Ironically, the college mandates an ethics course for a doctor acting in accordance with longstanding ethical principles.

Perhaps the college should take an ethics class themselves and, while they are at it, perhaps dust off that copy of the Hippocratic Oath they have lying around. Their actions are a disservice to both patients and the medical profession.

Mark Leakos, Saskatoon

Cut salaries of Saskatoon library managers

Ninety-five per cent of Saskatoon Public Library staff recently voted in favour of job action because their salaries aren’t keeping up with inflation. On the other hand, top executives at the library are receiving exorbitant salaries paid for by Saskatoon taxpayers.

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The board of trustees for the library should decrease salaries for executives and increase salaries for regular employees.

In 2023, the library CEO’s annual salary was $226,904, the director for public services received $155,078; the director for finance and administrative services was paid $155,078; the director for strategy and communication got $155,078; the director for reconciliation received $151,148; the director for collections and service infrastructure was paid $134,421; and the director for human resources got $134,315.

Instead of allocating more money for the salaries of low-level staff to cover the increased cost of living, the library board is blowing money on a new downtown library. The board needs to get its priorities straight. Workers are more important than this boondoggle.

Library taxes can’t be further increased because they’re already too high, but the new downtown library doesn’t need to be built when there’s already an excellent downtown library.

Ashu Solo, Saskatoon

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