Can a doctor refuse to treat me over my personal beliefs or lifestyle?

Registered medical practitioners in Malta are generally bound by professional and ethical obligations, overseen by the Medical Council under the Health Care Professions Act, Chapter 464 of the Laws of Malta, which generally require doctors to provide care based on genuine clinical need and professional judgment, and to treat patients with dignity and without inappropriate discrimination, meaning refusing appropriate medical care, or providing a materially lower standard of care, based on personal judgments about a patient's lifestyle choices rather than legitimate clinical considerations would generally fall outside acceptable professional conduct and could potentially constitute grounds for a formal complaint. That said, there is a distinction worth understanding between a doctor's professional obligation to provide appropriate care regardless of personal views, and certain narrowly defined and specifically regulated situations where conscientious objection may be recognised for particular types of procedures under specific legal frameworks, meaning the assessment of whether particular conduct was inappropriate can depend on the specific type of care involved and the exact circumstances of what happened. If you believe you experienced inappropriate discriminatory treatment affecting your actual medical care, it would be worth documenting exactly what occurred as clearly and specifically as possible, and formally raising a complaint with the Medical Council, which can properly investigate whether the doctor's conduct met the required professional and ethical standards expected of registered practitioners in Malta.