News
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How ‘conscientious objectors’ threaten women’s newly-won abortion rights in Latin America
From Uruguay to Chile, medical staff are refusing to provide abortion services even after their legalisation. Diana CariboniWomen’s rights to legal abortion have increased in Latin America – but so have campaigns and policies for medical staff to be able to ‘conscientiously object’ and refuse to participate in these procedures. “We didn’t see it coming,” […]
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The Growing Abuse of Conscientious Objection
Rebecca J. Cook, JD, JSD, and Bernard M. Dickens, LLB, LLM, PhD, LLD Virtual Mentor. May 2006, Volume 8, Number 5: 337-340 Physicians’ rights to refuse to participate in medical procedures that offend their conscience may be incompatible with patients’ rights to receive lawful, medically indicated treatment. Historically, the goal of medicine has been to […]
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United States – An Arizona woman needed a drug to induce a miscarriage. Her pharmacist refused.
Arizona is one of a handful of states that lets pharmacists raise ethical objections to prescriptions. By Jen KirbyAn Arizona woman who was having a miscarriage said a pharmacist at a local Walgreens store refused to issue her a prescription on Saturday because of ethical objections — an incident that’s put a spotlight on pharmacists’ […]
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South Africa – ‘Conscientious objection’: when doctors’ beliefs are a barrier to abortion
As a report highlights the ruinous impact of denying abortion, two medics offer opposing views on the role of personal belief Hannah SummersA rise in the number of healthcare providers who refuse to provide abortion services based on their personal beliefs is having a devastating impact on women and girls around the world, a new […]
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Abortion in Italy, a Right Wronged
by Ilaria Maria Sala Late last month, Cosimo Borraccino, a left-wing member of the regional council for Apulia, in southern Italy, proposed passing a local law to require the enforcement of national legislation granting women access to abortion. His opponents on the council, mostly from center-right parties, said the bill was unnecessary and that Mr. […]
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Uruguay – The Discussion on Conscientious Objection
by Nomtika All roads led to Uruguay last week, between July 31st and August 4th, as 5 SRJC members took to Montevideo for the International Convention on Conscientious Objection. The meeting, co-hosted by Mujer y Salud en Uruguay (MYSU) and the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC), featured policymakers, academics, health professionals, legal experts, and feminist […]
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Sweden – The case of the anti-abortion Swedish midwives – again
by International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion On 17 March, 19 April and 31 May, we published three reports from Sweden on the cases of two midwives who sought to keep their jobs in spite of declaring conscientious objection to abortion, which is not recognised under Swedish law, and refusing to provide abortion […]
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Ghana: Provider obstruction: a major threat to critical maternal health services in Northern Ghana
Ghana Web, by Mathias Aboba A study has revealed that access to critical maternal health care service in the three regions of Northern Ghana; Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions is impeded with clinicians refusing to provide some legally prescribed services due to their moral or religious beliefs.The research known as the Conscientious Objection […]
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Sweden: Where conscientious objection to abortion is not recognised in law
International Campaign for Women’s Right to Safe Abortion In Sweden, conscientious objection is not recognised in law. A Swedish midwife who refused to participate in abortions or prescribe contraceptives, which are part of the job description for midwives, was turned down for jobs in three clinics in the region of Joenkoeping in 2014.Her case was […]
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Norway: Doctor lost lawsuit after she denied patients UID
by Tor Ingar Oesterud The doctor, Katarzyna Jachimowicz, was fired after refuse to insert the birth control IUD (Intrauterine Device) for women. In the Norwegian GP regulations, from January 2015, states that doctors do not have a right to reserve them against consulting women about abortion or inserting UID. Read full article: norwaytoday.info – Feb 9, […]