Conscience and conscientious objection: The midwife’s role in abortion services

Abstract

<jats:p> Traditionally, the role of midwives has been to be with women throughout the pregnancy continuum, from conception until the end of the postnatal period. Midwives, however, have been named as key providers of abortion services. While freedom of conscience is legally protected within Europe, discrepancies exist between midwifery and conscientious objection to abortion-related services. Midwives are largely ignored within the academic discussion despite the care and support they give to women undergoing abortions. Those discrepancies led to the aim of this article to address this issue by discussing some of the key ethical and legal concepts that are relevant to midwives’ role in the provision of abortion services. </jats:p><jats:p> This article shows that the decision to provide or object to abortion services remains ethically very complex because arguments exist both for and against its provision. Being with women can be interpreted differently and individual situations of care are multifaceted. Conscientious objection to abortion services is a highly contentious issue that has an overall importance to midwives. Noting that decisions are individual, may change or may be situationally dependant; a definitive position of midwives for or against conscientious objection cannot be assumed. </jats:p><jats:p> Respecting conscience and acknowledging that there are various arguments for and against conscientious objection promotes widespread understanding. It accommodates both the opportunity for midwives to object on conscience grounds to the provision of abortion services and respect women’s autonomy so that mutual agreement may be reached on issues that may have far reaching consequences. </jats:p>

The Association Between Religion and Healthcare Professionals’ Attitudes Towards the Conscience Clause. A Preliminary Study From Poland

“…Strickland also demonstrated that while 45.2% of future doctors believed that physicians should be entitled to conscientiously object to any procedure for which they have a moral, cultural or religious disagreement, the majority of the objections were for non-religious reasons [20]. Finally, a systematic review conducted by Fleming et al indicated that the main reasons for or against CC to abortion provision expressed by nurses or midwives were moral reasons which exceeded practical, religious and legal reasons [63,64].…”

Conscience Clause in the Professional Practice of a Nurse and Midwife: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…With regard to the profession of a nurse and midwife the conscience clause is a speci c legal regulation, according to which, a nurse or midwife can refrain from performing health services inconsistent with their conscience. The analysis of the literature of the subject indicated that the issue is substantially more frequently raised in relation to a doctor's practice and it is rarely a case in relation to a nurse's or midwife's profession [11,12].…”

Conflictos éticos en un contexto de gestión pública: objeción de conciencia y aborto en la red sanitaria pública española

“…Desde otro punto de vista, se ha atribuido a la objeción de conciencia la virtud de evitar que la calidad de la atención a quien demanda un aborto se vea socavada por los problemas de conciencia del profesional sanitario. Como afirman Ramsayer y Fleming, en uno de sus estudios sobre la objeción de conciencia al aborto por parte de las matronas, "las mujeres que solicitan servicios de aborto también pueden beneficiarse de la objeción de conciencia, ya que les garantiza que serán atendidas por matronas que les proporcionen conscientemente los cuidados emocionales y físicos necesarios" (25).…”