Couple of ethicists wonder if Catholic medical schools can do the job

In an article in the Medical Journal of Australia, bioethicist Ian Kerridge and colleagues say the West Australian-based University of Notre Dame medical school may threaten just provision of health care.

An Australian Associated Press report in Saturday´s Sydney Morning Herald says ethicists are concerned about Australia´s first religiously-affiliated medical school where officials have described contraceptive use as immoral.

The Sydney University academics suggest the school´s affiliation with the Catholic Church has the potential to undermine the medical education provided, resulting in limitations on patient access to health services and provision of comprehensive care.

"It is reasonable to assume that all physicians should receive appropriate education about the range of health care services publicly available in Australia, including termination of pregnancy, provision of contraception, assisted reproductive technologies, genetic counselling, prenatal diagnosis and end-of-life care," they wrote.