Canadian Medical Association files legal challenge to protect the rights of young patients and families to make medical decisions

CALGARY, AB, May 28, 2025 /CNW/ - Today, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), along with three Alberta doctors, will file a constitutional challenge to Alberta's Bill 26, to protect the relationship between patients, their families and doctors when it comes to making treatment decisions.

Bill 26 directs physicians on how to deliver gender-affirming care to people under 18, down to which medications they can use, when and how. This is an historic and unprecedented government intrusion into the physician-patient relationship and requires doctors to follow the law rather than clinical guidelines, the needs of patients and their own conscience.

"Medicine is a calling. Doctors pursue it because they are compelled to care for and promote the well-being of patients," says CMA President Dr. Joss Reimer. "When a government bans specific treatments, it interferes with a doctor's ability to empower patients to choose the best care possible."

Doctors are governed by the highest standards of ethics and professionalism. Under Bill 26, they are now powerless to provide independent expertise, clinical guidance and treatment options when it comes to gender-affirming care.

"This legislation has put me and many of my colleagues in a state of moral crisis," says Dr. Jake Donaldson, a Calgary-based family physician providing gender-affirming care to about 40 adolescents.

"These patients are a vulnerable group that already face significant and disproportionate discrimination, violence and mental health challenges," he adds. "Bill 26 commands physicians to stand on the sidelines and watch them suffer."

This legal challenge is not just about Alberta and gender-affirming care. Health decisions are complex and unique to everyone. They are deeply personal and must be made by patients and their families, in partnership with their health provider – not by politicians.

The CMA felt it had no choice but to step in before this kind of political interference expands to other national health issues, such as vaccination, reproductive health, medical assistance in dying, or even cancers or surgeries resulting from lifestyle choices.

At a time when the Canadian health system is under significant pressure, the Alberta government should be spending its time, energy and resources on the 650,000 people in the province without a family doctor, not on the few hundred vulnerable youth seeking medical assistance. This is a misplaced priority that doesn't reflect the health care needs of people living in Alberta, and more broadly, in Canada.

Background

The CMA has filed an application with the Court of King's Bench for the judicial review of Alberta Bill 26 the Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2024 and its proposed changes to the Health Professions Act R.S.A 2000 with the Court of King's Bench.

The CMA asserts that Bill 26 and its proposed changes violate the freedom of conscience of physicians in Alberta contrary to section 2(a) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Protecting freedom of conscience in medical practice ensures doctors can provide medical guidance and treatments in the best interest of patients, without facing disciplinary action.

In Canada, physicians are governed by the CMA Code of Ethics and Professionalism (the "Code"). First established in 1868, the Code articulates the ethical and professional responsibilities of the medical profession. It is founded on and affirms the core values, commitments and principles that physicians must uphold as members of their profession.

About the CMA
The Canadian Medical Association leads a national movement with physicians who believe in a better future of health. Our ambition is a sustainable, accessible health system where patients are partners, a culture of medicine that elevates equity, diversity and wellbeing, and supportive communities where everyone has the chance to be healthy. We drive change through advocacy, giving and knowledge sharing – guided by values of collaboration and inclusion.

SOURCE Canadian Medical Association

To schedule an interview or for further information, please contact: CMA Media Relations: [email protected]; Elena Gabrysz, 514-839-7296; Eric Lewis, 506-566-1671