Catholic Neurologist Cleared After Being Accused of Expressing ‘Pro-Life Claims’ at End-of-Life Case

Undated photo of Rev. Patrick Pullicino. Courtesy of Christian Concern

The General Medical Council (GMC) has cleared a consultant neurologist and ordained Catholic priest after receiving a complaint for giving a “pro-life” medical opinion in an end-of-life court case.

Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Dr. Patrick Pullicino, 74, faced an investigation by the GMC which could have seen him barred from the profession.

The Christian Legal Centre alleged that he was “targeted by an assisted suicide campaigner,” Celia Kitzinger, allegations which she strongly denied to The Epoch Times.

His lawyers said that the case highlights the “growing pressure on medical professionals not to break ranks with their colleagues who had taken a controversial decision to end a patient’s life.”

“In sensitive end-of-life cases, dissenting medical experts risk severe criticism by courts and activists, leading to protracted and stressful investigations by professional regulators,” they added.

Recovery?

The case involved the Court of Protection authorising the removal of nutrition and fluids from a middle-aged Polish man, anonymised as “RS,” who had suffered brain damage after a heart attack.

The clinical team at a Plymouth hospital said that RS had no prospects of recovering beyond spending the rest of his life in a “minimally conscious state.”

The Court of Protection denied official requests by the Polish government to the UK to permit the man’s repatriation to Poland, and ruled that prolonging his life was not in his “best interests.”

RS’s mother and two sisters wanted to instruct Dr. Pullicino as their medical expert, but High Court judge Mr. Justice Cohen strongly criticised Dr. Pullicino’s opinion that further observations and tests were necessary for a confident prognosis.

Dr. Pullicino told the family in a letter that RS was making a faster recovery than had been expected.

In court, Dr. Pullicino suggested research that pointed out patients with hypoxic brain injury had a 50 percent chance of recovering to the point of achieving independence within their home.

However doctors working for the hospital told the court that RS’s condition had not changed. Judge Cohen also strongly criticised the contrary opinion of Dr. Pullicino and refused permission to instruct him as an expert.

Judge Cohen also said he had “severe misgivings” about Pullicino’s evidence and was “concerned about the level of his objectivity.”

At one point, the government of Poland give RS diplomatic status, however he eventually died from dehydration after all nutrition and fluids were withdrawn in January 2021.

‘Pro-Life Claims’

Ms. Kitzinger describes herself as “a scholar-activist with a background in academic psychology” and is the founding co-director of the Open Justice Court of Protection Project.

In a written complaint to the GMC, Ms. Kitzinger accused Dr. Pullicino of bias because he was a Catholic. She also said in a blog post that Christian Concern was using the case to advance “pro-life claims” in the courtroom.

In May 2021 the GMC notified Dr. Pullicino that it had commenced an investigation into his fitness to practice based on Ms. Kitzinger’s complaint.

The GMC has now concluded the case after three years, stating, “Dr Pullicino is an experienced Consultant Neurologist, with specialist registration and a licence to practise, and we have no evidence to suggest that he lacks competence to assess a patient’s level of consciousness.”

It added: “We do not have evidence to support an allegation that [his medical opinion] was inaccurate.

“We conclude that there is no realistic prospect of proving these allegations and they are concluded with no action.”

In regards to Dr. Pullicino’s beliefs it ruled, “No evidence was adduced to support the allegation that Dr Pullicino’s religious faith or personal beliefs affected his opinion on Patient RS.”

Ms. Kitzinger told The Epoch Times by email that she has “never campaigned for assisted dying, which is against the law in England and Wales.”

“I have worked within existing law to promote end-of-life decision making issues relating to ‘advance decisions to refuse treatment’ and ‘advance statements,’” she said.

When addressing claims that she “targeted” Dr. Pullicino, she said that her project supports members of the public to observe court hearings in the Court of Protection.

“It so happened that he became involved in one of these court hearings concerning an end-of-life decision for a man whose wife believed he would want to refuse treatment, but whose biological family (mother and sisters as I remember) who lived in another country believed that, as a Catholic, the man would want to continue to receive treatment. These are always painful and difficult decisions,” she said.

She added that she “fully respected religious freedom and Dr. Pullicino’s right to express his faith. ”

But she said the fact that her “GMC complaint has been closed with no action reveals a very significant discrepancy between the expectations of the judiciary and the expectations of the GMC as regards the conduct of doctors and the use of expert evidence in the Court of Protection.”

“That is bad for patients, bad for doctors, and bad for justice. It needs to be urgently addressed,” she said.

‘Discriminatory Attack’

Responding to the GMC closing the case, Dr. Pullicino said: “I am relieved and pleased that the GMC has refused to take any further action against me.

“In an emergency situation, I was ambushed in the courtroom and then targeted by a militant ‘right to die’ campaigner with an agenda to attack, discredit, and caricature my medical opinion.

“From the beginning it was a clear discriminatory attack on the medical opinion I gave because I am a Catholic priest and believe medical professionals should do everything possible to save another human’s life.

“The GMC should never have allowed an investigation to proceed against me, which was so clearly targeted against and based on my religious beliefs.

“I am concerned that it has taken so long for me to be vindicated and cleared.”

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said she was “delighted that Dr. Pullicino has been cleared, but it is deeply disturbing that this case got this far.”

“The irony should not escape us that this is a doctor under investigation for actually trying to save a life.

“In a world where truth is becoming stranger than fiction, we are now seeing doctors who work to save lives becoming the ones investigated by the GMC. This tells us something about the culture of the GMC.

“The investigation saw a distinguished professor of neurosciences, with an unblemished record, being dragged through the mud because a professor of gender and sexuality took umbrage that his medical opinion was ‘pro-life.’

“This is not the first time the GMC has allowed a case to proceed against a Christian medical professional because of a lone secular driven complaint laced in religious discrimination.”

The GMC told The Epoch Times that it could not comment.