Guest Editorial: Conscientious Objection in Healthcare: Problems and Perspectives.

Journal article

Conscientious objection in healthcare is the refusal by healthcare professionals (HCPs) to provide certain medical services on the basis of moral or religious beliefs. Conscience clauses in legislations regulating abortion and medical assistance to die typically exempt physicians from providing these services on conscience grounds. Conscientious objection often consists in a refusal to perform a certain medical activity; for example, a refusal by a Catholic physician to perform an abortion. However, some conscientious objectors claim a right to refuse to inform a patient about a certain therapeutic option and some others might refuse to refer a patient to a colleague for a medical procedure that they fi nd morally objectionable.
It is not surprising that, in the past few decades, the issue of health professionals’ conscientious objection has become a central topic of discussion in medical ethics.

Authors: Giubilini, A; Savulescu, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Journal: Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 3-5
• Publication date: 2016-12-09
• Acceptance date: 2016-01-01
• DOI: 10.1017/S096318011600075X
• EISSN: 1469-2147
• ISSN: 0963-1801
• Language: English
• Keywords: Journal Article