Mater hospital defends deferral of cancer drug trials on ethical grounds
The Mater Hospital is defending its decision to defer trials of an anti-cancer drug.
Its ethics committee is uncomfortable with the absolute insistence of some pharmaceutical companies that women involved use contraceptives.
The hospital said that it believes individuals and couples have the right to decide how they will go about avoiding pregnancy.
It is now redeveloping its consent procedures to ensure patients are fully informed of all the issues.
Labour's Liz McManus said this afternoon that she believes women deserve the chance to be treated without such religious interference.
