Proposal to inform European institutions regarding the regulation of conscientious objection to abortion

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to define a set of proposals to inform European institutions in the regulation of Conscientious Objection to abortion. The board of the European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care (ESC) was informed on the elements that should in the opinion of the authors be included in a future regulation of Conscientious Objection to abortion in Europe. These elements are outlined in this paper and the debate about them could form the basis for recommendations to the international scientific community and the European institutions. As current measures governing the principle of conscientious objection result in negative consequences regarding women’s access to sexual and reproductive health services, they should be changed. Healthcare services should adopt measures to guarantee that a woman’s right to voluntary abortion is not limited by the practitioner’s stance on the principle of conscientious objection. In the countries where conscientious objection is allowed, the regulation must clearly delineate the extent of the duties and the exemptions of professionals based on the principles of established social consensus. The recommendations included in this document specify measures on the rights of women, the rights and duties of the practitioner, the role of institutions and the role of professional associations.

Chinese abstract

本文目的在于建立一套整体体系，以建议欧洲监管机构出于良心上的反对堕胎。避孕和生殖保健（ESC）欧洲学会的委员会应该加入主张作者考虑到未来出于良心上的反对堕胎的元素，本文将着重讲述的这些元素以及关于此方面的争论都可以成为国际科学界和欧洲机构建议的基础。既然现有的监管良心上反对堕胎的措施对于女性得到性健康及生殖健康服务毫无益处，那么就应该改变。医疗服务机构应该采取措施来保证女性自愿进行堕胎的行为不会受到临床医师出于良心上的反对而受到限制。在那些允许出于良心上反对堕胎的国家，应该明确界定职责范围，并根据社会共识的原则进行专业人士的豁免。本文具体分析了女性的权利、医疗工作者的权利和义务以及监管机构和专业学会的作用。

Keywords:

• Abortion
• conscientious objection
• health care services
• human rights
• professional associations

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.