The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) this week set aside two of four counts against pro-life Dr Jacques de Vos who has been unable to practice for more than two years as the council has dragged its heels over his unprofessional conduct hearing.
Doctors For Life International (DFL) said in a media release that it “welcomes the progress made in defending Dr Jacques de Vos against the persecution he had to endure for advising that an unborn baby is a human being”.
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The much-delayed hearing will continue on Monday at the Southern Sun Hotel, Newlands, Cape Town, where the parties will try and reach an agreement about the future conduct of this matter as regards the remaining charge that De Vos tried to convince a woman not to authorise a doctor to kill her healthy 19 week old unborn child while he was an intern at the Wynberg Military Hospital.
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De Vos’s hearing has been delayed and rescheduled, and charges have been changed on more than one occasion. On October 28 and 29 his legal team argued, among other things, that the delays render the hearing unfair and the charges are unlawful.
In its media release DFL says that after some two years of linking their refusal to sign De Vos’s internship completion off with the outstanding disciplinary proceedings, the Wynberg Military Hospital has now abandoned this position. “In this regard the Disciplinary Committee of the HPSCA in effect in its reasons delivered on Tuesday has confirmed this de-linking. Prior to this despite letters to the HPSCA requesting clarity on this, no response was forthcoming from the HPSCA,” says DFL.
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De Vos, who is a member of DFL is supported by DFL and legal team (De Wet Wepener Attorneys and Adv Keith Matthee SC) on a pro bono basis.
