Conscientious objection and induced abortion in Europe

Abstract

The issue of conscientious objection (CO) arises in healthcare when doctors and nurses refuse to have any involvement in the provision of treatment of certain patients due to their religious or moral beliefs. Most commonly CO is invoked when it comes to induced abortion. Of the EU member states where induced abortion is legal, invoking CO is granted by law in 21 countries. The same applies to the non-EU countries Norway and Switzerland. CO is not legally granted in the EU member states Sweden, Finland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. The Icelandic legislation provides no right to CO either. European examples prove that the recommendation that CO should not prevent women from accessing services fails in a number of cases. CO puts women in an unequal position depending on their place of residence, socio-economic status and income. CO should not be presented as a question that relates only to health professionals and their rights. CO mainly concerns women as it has very real consequences for their reproductive health and rights. European countries should assess the laws governing CO and its effects on women's rights. CO should not be used as a subtle method for limiting the legal right to healthcare.

Concealing emotions: nurses' experiences with induced abortion care

“…Induced abortion is legal, as is invoking a CO to refuse to perform abortions (Heino et al . ). In Taiwan, there is no CO law, but the physician can refuse to perform an abortion.…”

Accommodating conscientious objection in the midwifery workforce: a ratio-data analysis of midwives, birth and late abortions in 18 European countries in 2016

“…countries and unlikely to affect workforce planning. Therefore we query the claims of Heino [15] and Zampas [16] that the increasing numbers of objectors are endangering abortion provision. We clearly show that the numbers of late abortions that may be expected to be encountered by midwives in the countries we included are negligible, even in the Netherlands, the country with the highest ratio in our analysis between late abortion per midwife.…”

Conscientious objection to abortion and reproductive healthcare

“…She implores medical professional societies to put forth guidelines, which can influence human rights courts. Heino et al [19] explain the laws across Europe and again argue that the lack of current protection for women prevents some from gaining access to services, particularly in places where the prevalence of conscientious objection is high.…”