Following are news articles on the topic of “conscientious objection”.
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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 […]
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Polish health minister ‘appalled’ girl, 14, struggled to get abortion after rape
Doctors at several hospitals cited a conscience clause to avoid treating the teenager who has a mental disability Agence France-Presse in WarsawPoland’s health minister has weighed in on a high-profile rape case, saying it was “unacceptable” that a mentally disabled 14-year-old girl struggled to get a legal abortion. The case, in which doctors at several […]
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Ireland – Five maternity hospitals will not provide abortions until next year
Ellen CoyneFive of the country’s maternity hospitals will not be providing abortion services until next year at the earliest, amid conscientious objection from individual obstetricians and a lack of resources. Another two maternity hospitals are still in talks with the HSE to try to roll out termination of pregnancy services next year, three years after […]
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What Will Happen if Doctors Defy the Law to Provide Abortions?
If lawmakers won’t protect conscientious providers, then judges should by Dov Fox Days after Texas banned most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy in September 2021, Dr. Alan Braid disclosed that he had “provided an abortion to a woman, who though still in her first trimester, was beyond the state’s new limit.” Dr. Braid […]
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Australia – ‘It was very traumatic for her’: how conscientious objection hinders women’s access to abortion
How is a doctor’s right to refuse abortion on religious or moral grounds weighed against a woman’s right to healthcare? Sophie Black, The GuardianFri 15 Jul 2022 Forwomen in certain parts of Queensland seeking an abortion, Nicole Huig knows how much can’t be taken for granted. If you live on the wrong side of the […]
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Abortion in Italy is legal, but finding one is hard
Rome (AFP) – For 40 years, gynaecologist Michele Mariano has been the only person performing abortions in Italy’s conservative Molise region. He has delayed retiring twice because no one will replace him, many refusing to terminate pregnancies as conscientious objectors. It’s an extreme example, but emblematic of a wider issue in Italy, where abortion up […]
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What is ‘conscientious objection’? Here’s why major parties are talking about it
By David Lao, Global News As the campaign for the 2021 federal election continues, one controversial topic looks to be coming right to the forefront — whether health-care professionals are obligated to provide care for service they morally oppose, or at least refer the patient to another doctor. At issue is what’s known as conscientious […]
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Australia – Doctors’ conscientious objection to abortion can affect women’s health: study
Some Victorian health professionals who conscientiously object to abortion are breaking the law by not referring patients to another professional who doesn’t object, new Victorian research has found. Published in BMC Medical Ethics, the University of Melbourne-led study found that in some cases, women had abortions much later than necessary or had the baby, despite […]
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Ghana – The battle of values: Health practitioners make medical decisions based on personal values
By Mathias AbobaWomen seeking legal abortion care including life-threatening complications due to abortion (post-abortion complication) or after suffering miscarriage may be denied care by some health service providers in Ghana due to their religious or moral beliefs, a research finding has revealed. According to the study, which looked at Conscience-based Objection to abortion care or […]
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Let’s call ‘conscientious objection’ by its name: Obstruction of access to care and abortion in South Africa
Satang Nabaneh, Marion Stevens, and Lucia Berro PizzarossaSouth Africa has one of the most liberal laws on abortion and constitutionally recognizes reproductive rights as human rights. However, data shows important difficulties translating the legal norms into effective access to services. One of the key challenges is physicians’ refusal to perform abortions invoking an “ad hoc, […]
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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. […]