SIGN PETITIONS TO HELP DR. VOS: https://www.change.org/p/pro-life-acdp-stands-with-pro-life-dr-de-vos?use_react | https://www.citizengo.org/en-af/pr/173258-stop-persecuting-dr-jacques-vos-his-pro-life-beliefs
Pro-life doctor Jaques De Vos has had two of the four charges against him set aside by The Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA). De Vos is said to be facing disciplinary action due to his anti-abortion views, but fortunately, charges three and four have been dropped. While De Vos’ defense team tried to argue all four charges should be dismissed due to their prejudicial nature, the committee decided the first two charges will remain.
De Vos has been accused of trying to dissuade a female patient from abortion back in 2016 when he was interning at 2 Military Hospital in Wynberg. The second remaining charge claims that he did not respect his patient’s bodily autonomy, but De Vos’ council contended that the pro-life doctor was caring for both the mother and the baby. De Vos did this “by trying to save the life of a healthy [19-week old] unborn child, ”and as a doctor, a sense of dedication to all of his patients should be praised – not treated as criminal conduct.
Hopefully the dismissal of some of the charges continues to bring good news for the doctor. The third charge had accused him of openly sharing his pro-life beliefs with his colleagues by handing out pamphlets and openly expressing his religious beliefs. The fourth charge accused him of not remaining objective about contraceptives and acting outside of the interests of his patients. Due to the remaining allegations against him, De Vos has not been able to practice medicine since July 2017.
HPCSA pro forma complainant Zolile Gajana was not pleased with the dismissal of these two charges, and informed the committee he would be taking the matter under review.
The hearings will resume in April 2020. This allows both sides to prepare expert witnesses for the upcoming hearing, and for Gajana to assess the committee’s decision to drop the two charges against De Vos.
