Freedom of conscience in Europe? An analysis of three cases of midwives with conscientious objection to abortion

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Fleming, V, Ramsayer, B and Zaksek, TS (2017) Freedom of conscience in Europe? An analysis of three cases of midwives with conscientious objection to abortion. Journal of Medical Ethics, 44 (2). pp. 104-108. ISSN 0306-6800

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Abstract

While abortion has been legal in most developed countries for many years, the topic remains controversial. A major area of controversy concerns women’s rights vis a vis the rights of health professionals to opt out of providing the service on conscience grounds. Although scholars from various disciplines have addressed this issue in the literature there is a lack of empirical research on the topic. This paper provides a documentary analysis of three examples of conscientious objection on religious grounds to performing abortion-related care by midwives in different Member States of the European Union, two of which have resulted in legal action. These examples show, that as well as the laws of the respective countries and the European Union, professional and church law each played a part in the decisions made. However, support from both professional and religious sources was inconsistent both within and between the examples. The authors conclude that there is a need for clear guidelines at both local and pan-European level for health professionals and recommends a European wide forum to develop and test them.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: 1199 Other Medical And Health Sciences, 2201 Applied Ethics
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BJ Ethics
R Medicine > RG Gynecology and obstetrics
Divisions: Nursing and Advanced Practice
Publisher: BMJ Publishing
Date of acceptance: 11 May 2017
Date of first compliant Open Access: 30 April 2018
Date Deposited: 30 Apr 2018 11:00
Last Modified: 04 Sep 2021 02:44
DOI or ID number: 10.1136/medethics-2016-103529
URI: https://ljmu-9.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/8578
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