Concerning Accounts Of NZ Medical Council Silencing Dissenting Voices Must Be Investigated

Reports today released in The Centrist that the Medical Council punished dissenting medical practitioners who expressed concern regarding COVID-19 vaccination, and instructed doctors in a ‘Guidance Statement’ that anti-vaccination messages regarding the COVID-19 vaccine had “no place” in professional health practice, must be investigated, says Jonathan Ayling, Chief Executive of the Free Speech Union.

“Informed consent, which ensures patients are aware of the risks involved before they accept medical treatment, is only possible where medical practitioners are able to speak freely. This is a cornerstone of ethical medical practice, and is outlined by the NZ Medical Council themselves in their informed consent guidelines, as well as in the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights.

“These concerning reports are not about the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine but rather whether medical professionals were able to exercise professional judgement and use their speech rights to perform their duties ethically.

“Allegedly, the NZ Medical Council put doctors who had concerns over the COVID-19 vaccine in an impossible position where they had to choose between these principles of informed consent or the contradictory ‘Guidance Statement’ on the vaccine.

“If the public is to trust medical professionals and be able to make informed choices, they need transparency of information, the ability to freely access a variety of perspectives, and a full understanding of the risks involved. Free speech is not just about the right to speak your mind. It’s also about the right to listen. And transparency leads to trust.

“What has been reported on today by The Centrist is consistent with cases where we have defended nurses who were silenced and punished for giving their perspectives on the COVID-19 vaccine.

“There are few more powerful ways to censor someone than by threatening their livelihood. The NZ Medical Council outrageously put doctors in an impossible situation where they were unable to provide patients with informed consent without facing disciplinary action.

“If these claims are true, it is a travesty that the NZ Medical Council sought to pick and choose the views their doctors could or couldn’t share with their patients, putting them in such ethically impossible situations. These reports must be investigated in order for trust in our public health system to remain strong.”

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