Anvita Dixit, Dipesh Suvarna, Joyce Arthur, and Angel M. Foster

Abstract:

Although contraception and abortion are considered medically necessary services, providers in Canada are permitted to deny services and referrals on the basis of their personal beliefs or conscience. Belief-based denial, sometimes referred to as “conscientious objection,” remains a controversial issue leading to barriers to access and provision of care. We carried out a scoping review to explore what is currently known about the belief-based denial of contraception and abortion care in Canada. We used a predefined framework to search for relevant sources and found a total of 97 articles including 27 peer-reviewed articles, 47 media articles, and 23 articles from reproductive health organizations, published since 1990. The literature we found shows that policy has been a key area of discussion; sources also focus on conceptually defining belief-based denial and advocacy efforts for reproductive rights. There is a stark lack of peer-reviewed literature documenting and examining the impact of belief-based denial of contraception and abortion care on those denied care in Canada.

Full article: The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality. (doi: 10.3138/cjhs-2023-0055)