News
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Can a hospital hold a conscience?
by Jasmine Davis22 September 2025 When I first entered medical school and heard the term “conscientious objection”, I was slightly confused. Having been a war history enthusiast in high school, a conscientious objector to me had always been associated with individuals refusing military service. I quickly learned from ethics tutorials in medical school that the […]
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Doctors shouldn’t be allowed to object to medical care if it harms their patients
July 22, 2025 by Julian Savulescu A young woman needs an abortion and the reasons, while urgent, are not medical. A United States Navy nurse at Guantánamo Bay is ordered to force-feed a defiant detainee on hunger strike. These very different real-life cases have one connecting thread: the question of whether a health professional can […]
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Improving access to medical abortion in Australian primary care
Many barriers are preventing uptake of medical abortion provision, including “conscientious objection” Annika HowellsIssue 25 / 30 June 2025 Access to safe and affordable abortion is essential health care and a human right. … However, medical abortion is still not widely available in primary care, and geographic and financial barriers remain.…Navigating conscientious objection The review […]
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Repeal “conscientious objection” clause from 1967 Abortion Act
The United Kingdom was the first country to legalize the denial of health care via “conscientious objection” in its 1967 Abortion Act. This practice has proven to be harmful and unworkable around the world. On May 29, we sent a message to all Members of Parliament in the United Kingdom, asking them to take action […]
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Women in Europe who miscarry can be left to die by “conscientious objectors” – who go unpunished
March 26, 2025 Italian appeal court acquitted four doctors for refusing to save Valentina Milluzzo’s life In October 2016, Valentina Milluzzo of Italy, 32, was miscarrying much-wanted twins at 19 weeks of pregnancy. But she died in the Cannizzaro Hospital in Catania Sicily after being denied an abortion, despite no hope for survival of her […]
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New UN Guidance Calling for Restraints on Conscientious Objection to Abortion Care
by Cynthia Soohoo and Jaime M. Gher The United Nations Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls (WGDAWG) this summer issued important new guidance on how governments can comply with their obligations to ensure that individual refusals to provide health care services based on religion or conscience do not create a barrier to reproductive […]
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ITALY – Appeal court acquits four doctors who refused to save the life of a woman who miscarried in their hospital
In Sicily, the Court of Appeal of Catania has just acquitted four doctors — Silvana Campione, Giuseppe Maria Alberto Calvo, Alessandra Coffaro, and Vincenzo Filippello — in the case of Valentina Milluzzo, 32 years old, who died from septic shock at the Cannizzaro Hospital on 16 October 2016. Milluzzo was pregnant with twins, who were […]
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Poland restricts conscience clause on abortion
An amended Polish resolution on the use of conscience clauses on abortion has come into force, requiring hospitals to have a doctor on site able to perform an abortion in certain circumstances – a significant change in a country with one of the strictest abortion laws in Europe. Aleksandra Krzysztoszek, EURACTIV.pl May 31, 2024 An amended Polish […]
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Advocates say Victorian women are struggling to access abortion services amid conscientious objectors
By Rachel Clayton, ABC.net – Australia May 21, 2024 Health staff across Victoria say women are being blocked from accessing abortion services by conscientious objectors, who are then failing to refer them to alternative providers. Under Victoria’s Abortion Law Reform Act, a registered health practitioner — such as a doctor or pharmacist — is allowed […]
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Ireland – Abortion system could collapse, says researcher involved in review of laws
Dr Deirdre Duffy identifies issues around conscientious objection and spread of services and is concerned her findings will not be shared Jennifer Bray, Irish TimesElements of Ireland’s abortion system are “not sustainable” in their current form and the service could collapse, according to a researcher involved in a review of the State’s laws on terminations […]