Pro-life doctor’s case adjourned

THE disciplinary hearing of anti-abortion doctor Jacques de Vos by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has been adjourned until December 9.

Arguments over technical details and medical ethics dominated the hearing for the second day yesterday, leading the HPCSA’s Professional Conduct Committee, chaired by Andrew Swart, to rule that the hearing would proceed on two of the four counts De Vos faced.

The two counts relate to him advising a woman that her unborn child was a human being. The committee said it would need extra time to deliberate on counts three and four, which are charges regarding De Vos’ personal views on abortion.

De Vos’ legal team, led by senior counsel Keith Matthee, argued that the charges were unlawful, vague, and that the long delay and failure to provide information by the HPCSA had rendered the hearing unfair.

Matthee said the defence would decide on the way forward after December 9, including possibly applying to the high court for a review. They had argued to have the matter struck from the roll, citing among other issues a three-year delay in bringing the matter to a hearing, vague charges, and no statement from the patient.

The defence insisted they had made efforts to obtain the prescribed documents needed for what they would deem a fair hearing since 2017.

In response, prosecutor Zolile Gajana said the HPCSA had done everything by the book: “There’s no requirement that the patient must submit a statement.”

Gajana said in this case the patient’s mother had provided a statement and that was enough to charge De Vos.

Gajana told the HPCSA Professional Conduct Committee that De Vos had contravened “the ethical principles of non maleficence, beneficence and patient autonomy”. These require that the patient have autonomy of thought, intention, and action when making decisions on health care.