Communiqué of the Central Ethics Committee of the WTO with regard to the publication of various erroneous information on the code of medical ethics.

Madrid, 2011-July before certain information biased and wrong about the code of medical deontology adopted on 9 July by the General Assembly of official colleges of physicians, the plenary of the Central Commission of ethics, as responsible for its preparation, wants to move to the public the following considerations:

1-about the lack of independence in the drafting of the code. Our work has done over these past two years and a half with absolute independence and freedom of discretion, without any influence or pressure from individuals or groups.

2. On the lack of transparency and difficulty of participation of the doctors.

Systematics which governed this country for the development of standards by bodies representing has followed in the drafting of the code: the code has been drawn up by a technical Committee, the Central Committee of ethicscomposed of twelve doctors elected in free and secret elections. Completed its development, after two and a half years of work and deliberations, it referred to all the schools official from doctors of Spain for its dissemination, knowledge and contribution of allegations. As a result of this procedure the Central Ethics Commission received 372 amendments, many of which were incorporated into the document.

This latter text was submitted to all the colleges of physicians of Spain. Received new allegations which were valued and subjected to secret ballot one by one, on July 9 in the Assembly General of the Organization Medical College, which brings together the whole of Spanish doctors represented in vowels national and provincial Presidents.

3. Concerning the absence in the code of the adequate protection of the right to conscientious objection.

It is the first time that a Spanish Medical Ethics Code devotes a chapter which enshrines the right of the doctor to conscientious objection (Chapter VI, articles 32 to 35).

4. On the tolerance of the code with regard to abortion.

Article 51.1 says: man is an end in itself, in all phases of the life cycle, from conception to death. The doctor is obliged, in any of its proceedings, to safeguard the dignity and integrity of persons under its care ”.

Article 55.1 says the doctor is at the service of preserving life he entrusted any of its stages ”. It is clear the position of the code of respect for human life.

However, the code includes in his second final provision: the doctor to act covered by the laws of the State shall not be liable deontológicamente ”.

This code has put special care to respect the autonomy of the patient whose exercise is essential to your doctor to provide adequate, reliable and complete information so that the patient may freely make their decisions. The information is a legal and ethical duty to which there is no conscientious objection.

We would like these considerations were a stimulus for a leisurely, complete and attentive reading of the code.

Fdo.: the plenum of the Central Commission of unethical medical of the Organization Medical College.