Doctor barred from working for 2 years for advice on abortion finally facing inquiry

A former military hospital doctor, Dr Jacques de Vos, who has been unable to practise medicine for more than two years for advising that abortion is the killing of an unborn human being, will finally get to respond to charges against him when he appears before a disciplinary inquiry of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) in Cape Town tomorrow.

The plight of the young doctor was disclosed by Doctors For Life International in a press release on Friday and has elicited considerable support for De Vos and condemnation for 2 Military Hospital in Cape Town who refused to sign off his practical experience because of his advice, despite the fact that he had completed the intern work required to become a doctor.

The hospital’s action effectively prevented De Vos from working as a doctor and despite numerous efforts by Dr De Vos and his legal team, he has not received any assistance from the SA Military Health Service or the HPCSA to continue with his career.

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ACDP MP Marie Sukers said in a media statement today that the party stands in solidarity with De Vos and commended him for taking a bold and unpopular stand in choosing to be a voice for the voiceless.

She said it was “utterly disgraceful” that 2 Military Hospital and the HPCSA had prevented a health professional from practising at a time when his skills and expertise were in high demand in health facilities across the country.

“It should never have taken this long for this case to be heard,” said Sukers.

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ChristianView Network called today for the South African National Defence Force “to stop killing defenceless unborn South Africans and sign off the work of the medical intern doctor who they charged for advising that unborn babies are human”.

“It is unjust that a doctor is being denied the right to practice for upholding the Hippocratic Oath, which all doctors used to be required to take to be allowed to practice. The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) should never have entertained the charge, and even if it had, a two-year delay in hearing it is unfair to Dr De Vos. His disciplinary hearing starts tomorrow Tuesday 27 August in Cape Town. The HPCSA should dismiss the charges and let him practice medicine,” says ChristianView Network in a Facebook Post.

De Vos’s story gained over 500 comments and 1 100 shares on social media over the weekend, most strongly supporting the young doctor.

Adv Keith Matthee SC, instructed by De Wet Wepener Attorneys, will represent De Vos when he appears before a six-member panel disciplinary inquiry scheduled for tomorrow and Wednesday.

The hearings are open to the public. The venue is yet to be confirmed by the HPCSA.

De Vos’s claim that unborn babies are human is confirmed by medical, scientific, psychological and biblical evidence, says ChristianView Network in today’s Facebook post.

The post continues:

“1. Genetic evidence showing every cell in an unborn baby is that of a unique human, different from her mother debunking the ancient Greek myth the baby is part of the mothers body;
2. Nobody uses de-humanising words to describe an unborn baby outside abortion advocacy or medicine. Who asks a pregnant mother “Is your fetus a boy or girl?”
3. Advances in medical imagery of unborn babies show the baby active in the womb, recognising to her parents voice debunking the myth that life starts at ‘quickening’ when the mother starts to feel the baby kick. This technology is what led Dr Bernard Nathanson, leader of the abortion rights movement in the USA to switch sides and produce the film ‘The silent scream’. https://archive.org/details/SilentScreamAbortionOfPregnancy Since then technological advances have only strengthened the case.
4. In the past, those who stab or shoot pregnant women have had two murder or attempted murder charges not one.
5. Mothers who abort struggle with post-abortion trauma often seeking counselling. Some fathers do as well. Many abortion doctors and nurses also suffer post-traumatic stress. There is no comparable reaction to any other medical procedure, but only when a patient dies. Mothers who regret their abortion are writing to the Health Care Professions Council of SA to defend Dr De Vos.
6. Most medical professionals strongly dislike and avoid abortion, with around a third conscientiously objecting entirely. Even most abortion doctors admit abortion is undesirable and they have conscience problems around doing it, but defend it as the lesser of two evils against an unwanted child. There is no comparable degree of conscientious objection or dislike of any other procedure among medical professionals.
7. The unborn John the Baptist jumped in the womb in the presence of the unborn Jesus (Luke 1:41-44).
8. The abortion doctors who joined the ANC health committee motivate legal abortion in 1994 sent Students for Life a letter confirming “There was no argument about when life begins”. https://bit.ly/2ZgPziZ and in context full correspondence https://bit.ly/2ZfWbyk
9. Doctors perform medical operations on unborn babies in the womb for example to correct heart defects, when they are wanted.
10. There is nothing that magically happens at birth that makes a baby a human being. It is just a change of location. The baby is still totally dependent for years afterward. Changing the location or dependency of a born person does not change their humanity.
11. The vast majority of South Africans oppose abortion as confirmed by repeated polls despite media propaganda to the contrary, and thus affirm the unborn child is human.
The denial of the humanity of unborn babies is thus purely a result of ignorance, abortion advocates trying to mislead the public or abortion doctors trying to soothe their own consciences. Dr De Vos is right. Unborn babies are human.”

You can write to HPCSA to express your view at Legalmed@hpcsa.co.za