RESUMO
"Conscientious provision" refers to situations in which clinicians wish to provide legal and professionally accepted treatments prohibited within their (usually Catholic) health care institutions. It mirrors "conscientious objection," which refers to situations in which clinicians refuse to provide legal and professionally accepted treatments offered within their (usually secular) health care institutions. Conscientious provision is not protected by law, but conscientious objection is. In practice, this asymmetry privileges conservative religious or moral values (usually associated with objection) over secular moral values (usually associated with provision). In this article, we first argue for a legal right to one kind of conscientious provision: referral for procedures prohibited at Catholic hospitals. We then argue that a premise in that argument-the principle of comparably trivial institutional burdens-justifies legal protections for some additional forms of conscientious provision that include, for example, writing prescriptions for contraception or medical abortions. However, this principle cannot justify legal protections for other forms of conscientious provision, for instance, the right to perform surgical abortions or gender-affirming hysterectomies at Catholic hospitals.
Assuntos
Catolicismo , Consciência , Encaminhamento e Consulta , Humanos , Encaminhamento e Consulta/ética , Religião e Medicina , Recusa Consciente em Tratar-se/ética , Recusa Consciente em Tratar-se/legislação & jurisprudência , Recusa em Tratar/ética , Recusa em Tratar/legislação & jurisprudência , Hospitais Religiosos/ética , Hospitais Religiosos/legislação & jurisprudência , Estados UnidosRESUMO
Physicians may under some circumstances decline to provide a clinical service that is within accepted medical standards due to a deeply held moral belief that to do so would be wrong. Conscience objection in medicine is legally protected, but ethically limited by physician obligations to put patient interests first. Accommodation to conscientious objections, when possible, recognizes the diverse moral perspectives and benefits for both the objectors and the profession as a whole. When these situations arise, physicians have obligations to respectfully resolve the distress of conscientious objectors while still honoring the primacy of patient care needs.
Assuntos
Consciência , Médicos , Humanos , Médicos/ética , Recusa Consciente em Tratar-se/ética , Recusa em Tratar/éticaRESUMO
Healthcare professionals often face ethical conflicts and challenges related to decision-making that have necessitated consideration of the use of conscientious objection (CO). No current guidelines exist within Spain's healthcare system regarding acceptable rationales for CO, the appropriate application of CO, or practical means to support healthcare professionals who wish to become conscientious objectors. As such, a procedural framework is needed that not only assures the appropriate use of CO by healthcare professionals but also demonstrates its ethical validity, legislative compliance through protection of moral freedoms and patients' rights to receive health care. Our proposal consists of prerequisites of eligibility for CO (individual reference, specific clinical context, ethical justification, assurance of non-discrimination, professional consistency, attitude of mutual respect, assurance of patient rights and safety) and a procedural process (notification and preparation, documentation and confidentiality, evaluation of prerequisites, non-abandonment, transparency, allowance for unforeseen objection, compensatory responsibilities, access to guidance and/or consultative advice, and organizational guarantee of professional substitution). We illustrate the real-world utility of the proposed framework through a case discussion in which our guidelines are applied.
Assuntos
Recusa Consciente em Tratar-se , Espanha , Humanos , Recusa Consciente em Tratar-se/ética , Guias como Assunto , Recusa em Tratar/ética , Recusa em Tratar/legislação & jurisprudênciaRESUMO
Some authors argue that it is permissible for clinicians to conscientiously provide abortion services because clinicians are already allowed to conscientiously refuse to provide certain services. Call this the symmetry thesis. We argue that on either of the two main understandings of the aim of the medical profession-what we will call "pathocentric" and "interest-centric" views-conscientious refusal and conscientious provision are mutually exclusive. On pathocentric views, refusing to provide a service that takes away from a patient's health is professionally justified because there are compelling reasons, based on professional standards, to refuse to provide that service (e.g., it does not heal, and it is contrary to the goals of medicine). However, providing that same service is not professionally justified when providing that service would be contrary to the goals of medicine. Likewise, the thesis turns out false on interest-centric views. Refusing to provide a service is not professionally justified when that service helps the patient fulfill her autonomous preferences because there are compelling reasons, based on professional standards, to provide that service (e.g., it helps her achieve her autonomous preferences, and it would be contrary to the goals of medicine to deny her that service). However, refusing to provide that same service is not professionally justified when refusing to provide that service would be contrary to the goals of medicine. As a result, on either of the two most plausible views on the goals of medicine, the symmetry thesis turns out false.
Assuntos
Consciência , Humanos , Gravidez , Recusa Consciente em Tratar-se/ética , Feminino , Aborto Induzido/ética , Autonomia Pessoal , Ética Médica , Médicos/ética , Recusa em Tratar/éticaRESUMO
Resumen Este artículo examina el fenómeno de la objeción de conciencia (OC) a los servicios de aborto legal en Argentina, Uruguay y Colombia. Basado en relatos obtenidos a través de entrevistas, el análisis toma distancia de aquellos enfocados en diferenciar entre OC y barreras al servicio, o en identificar si las razones de objeción son verdaderas o válidas. Partiendo del hecho de que en muy pocos casos las/los objetoras/es están al tanto de las definiciones legales de la OC, se busca entender los significados que las/los entrevistadas/os le atribuyeron, y desde los cuales organizan su práctica médica, y justifican su negación a prestar servicios de aborto. En los tres países las/los entrevistadas/os se oponían principalmente a que fueran las mujeres quienes tomaran la decisión de qué embarazos interrumpir, y cómo y cuándo hacerlo. Los discursos contingentes a través de los cuales las/os médicas/os construyen las racionalidades de su OC están hechos, sobre todo, de un incuestionado apego al control de los cuerpos con capacidad de gestar; y de entendidos médico-sociales de las mujeres como inexorablemente madres, máquinas de reproducción o soportes vitales de fetos.
Resumo Este artigo examina o fenômeno da objeção de consciência (OC) nos serviços de aborto legal na Argentina, Uruguai e Colômbia. Com base nas narrativas obtidas por meio de entrevistas, a análise se distancia daquelas focadas na diferenciação entre OC e barreiras ao serviço, ou na interrogação sobre a verdade ou validade das razões para a objeção. Partindo do fato de que, em poucos casos, os objetores conhecem as definições legais da OC, procura-se compreender os significados que as/os entrevistadas/os lhe atribuíram e a partir dos quais organizam a sua prática médica e justificam a sua recusa em prestar serviços de aborto. Em todos os três países, os/as entrevistados/as se opuseram principalmente a que as mulheres decidissem por si mesmas quais gravidezes interromper, como e quando o fazem. Os discursos contingentes através dos quais os/as médicos/as constroem as racionalidades da sua OC são feitos, sobretudo, através de um apego inquestionável ao controle dos corpos capazes de gestação; e de compreensões médico-sociais das mulheres como inexoravelmente mães, máquinas de reprodução ou suportes vitais dos fetos.
Abstract This article examines conscientious objection (CO) to legal abortion services in Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia. Based on interviews, the analysis offers an alternative from studies focusing on differentiating between CO and access barriers, or in identifying if the reasons for the objections are true or valid. Considering the fact that it is only in very few cases that the objectors knew the legal definition of CO, the article seeks to understand the meanings that the interviewees attribute to their objection, how they organize their medical practices and how they justify their denial to provide abortion services. In all three countries, the interviewees' main opposition was to women themselves making the decision to interrupt a pregnancy, and how and when to do it. The contingent and variable discourses through which the doctors construct the logic of their CO are made of an unquestioning attachment to controlling gestating bodies; and a default socio-medical understanding of women as mothers, reproductive machines or as fetal life support systems.
Assuntos
Humanos , Feminino , Gravidez , Médicos , Bioética , Recusa em Tratar/ética , Aborto Legal , Consciência , Argentina , Uruguai , Atitude do Pessoal de Saúde , Entrevistas como Assunto , Colômbia , Direitos Sexuais e Reprodutivos , Violência contra a Mulher , Narrativa Pessoal , Barreiras ao Acesso aos Cuidados de Saúde , GinecologiaRESUMO
La Ley 21.030 de Chile despenalizó la interrupción voluntaria del embarazo en tres causales (riesgo de vida de la mujer, malformación de carácter letal del feto y embarazo producto de violación), e introdujo por primera vez en la legislación del país, el derecho a la objeción de conciencia de los equipos clínicos que participan directamente de los procedimientos de vaciamiento uterino de las gestaciones en que concurre alguna de las tres situaciones consideradas en la Ley. Esta Ley tuvo un amplio debate social y legislativo, y a un año de su implementación podemos observar con preocupación, que la objeción de conciencia de los equipos clínicos se alza como la principal barrera de acceso a las prestaciones de salud a las cuales tienen derechos las mujeres en estas situaciones en Chile.1,2 El presente artículo espera aportar al debate nacional sobre el rol de los profesionales de salud ante el nuevo escenario jurídico-sanitario, donde el equilibrio entre las libertades personales de los profesionales y el legítimo derecho de las mujeres a poder acceder a los servicios definidos en la Ley 21.030 estén en el centro de la discusión, y se expresan como una oportunidad o definitivamente una amenaza al estado de derecho, es decir a nuestra democracia
Chile's Law 21.030 decriminalized the voluntary interruption of pregnancy in three situations (when the woman's life is at risk, where the fetus has a lethal malformation, and in pregnancies resulting from rape), and also, for the first time in national legislative history, introduced the right to conscientious objection for clinical teams that participate directly in abortion procedures for the three situations considered in the Law. This Law spurred a broad social and legislative debate, and one year after its implementation, it is concerning to observe that the clinical teams' conscientious objections have been principle barrier impeding women's access to these health benefits, despite their legal right. This article seeks to contribute to the national debate on the role of health professionals in this new legal-sanitary scenario, where the balance between the personal freedoms of professionals and the legitimate right of women to access the services defined in Law 21.030 are at the center of the discussion. These are expressed either as an opportunity or as a definitive threat to the rule of law, which is to say, to our democracy.
Assuntos
Humanos , Feminino , Gravidez , Direitos da Mulher , Recusa em Tratar/legislação & jurisprudência , Pessoal de Saúde/psicologia , Consciência , Aborto , Chile , Recusa em Tratar/éticaRESUMO
It is usual to understand conscientious objection as a doctors refusal to perform a legitimate intervention, for subjective personal reasons unrelated to medicine. It is then accepted only by respect to professional autonomy and freedom of beliefs. Understood in that way it would be thus reasonable to limit it, curtail it or delete it, since the objector would not be willing to grant benefits that correspond to his medical profession. This work aims to show exactly the opposite, taking as an example the project of law that pretends to decriminalize abortion in some situations in Chile. Is the objector who defends medical activity relying on ethic codes that seek to preserve the values and principles of our profession.
Assuntos
Humanos , Prática Profissional/ética , Padrões de Prática Médica/ética , Aborto Induzido/ética , Consciência , Ética Médica , Chile , Recusa em Tratar/ética , Autonomia Profissional , Códigos de ÉticaRESUMO
The Chilean bill that regulates abortion for three cases (Bulletin Nº 9895-11) includes the possibility that health professionals may manifest their conscientious objection (CO) to perform this procedure. Due to the broad impact that the issue of C O had, the Ethics Department of the Chilean College of Physicians considered important to review this concept and its ethical and legal basis, especially in the field of sexual and reproductive health. In the present document, we define the practical limit s of CO, both for the proper fulfillment of the medical profession obligations, and for the due respect and non-discrimination that the professional objector deserves. We analyze the denial of some health institutions to perform abortions if it is legalize d, and we end with recommendations adjusted to the Chilean reality. Specifically, we recognize the right to conscientious objection that all physicians who directly participate in a professional act have. But we a lso recognize that physicians have ineludib le obligations towards their patients, including the obligation to inform about the existence of this service, how to access to it and -as set out in our code of ethics- to ensure that another colleague will continue attending the patient.
Assuntos
Humanos , Prática Profissional/ética , Padrões de Prática Médica/ética , Recusa em Tratar/ética , Consciência , Ética Médica , Chile , Comissão de Ética , Aborto Induzido/ética , Códigos de ÉticaRESUMO
En la práctica clínica, el conflicto por la objeción de conciencia emerge al confrontarse el derecho del profesional objetor a la libertad de conciencia y el derecho de las personas a la atención en salud, oportuna, de calidad y sin discriminación. Frente a una objeción resulta imprescindible considerar la existencia de requisitos y límites, descartando su utilización para eludir la responsabilidad profesional o como forma encubierta de prácticas discriminatorias. Mediante un estudio exploratorio, cualitativo, se analizaron los principales significados y aspectos bioéticos relacionados con la objeción de conciencia profesional en la atención de salud sexual y reproductiva de adolescentes de la Región Metropolitana, en Santiago de Chile. Los resultados evidencian que, en la medida que se establezcan las bases éticas y legales para resguardar los derechos fundamentales, basados en el respeto por la dignidad de todos los involucrados, podremos lograr un real entendimiento entre las partes que a menudo entran en conflicto respecto de esta materia.
In clinical practice, the conflict due to conscientious objection arises when confronting the right of professional objection to free conscience and the right of persons to health care on time, with quality and without discrimination. When facing an objection is indispensable to consider the existence of requirements and limits, ruling out its use to evade professional responsibility or as a way to hide discriminatory practices. Using an exploratory, qualitative study, the main meanings and bioethical issues related to professional conscientious objection were analyzed in sexual and reproductive health care of adolescents of Metropolitan Region in Santiago of Chile. The results show that, in the extend that ethical and legal basis safeguard fundamental rights, based in the respect for the dignity of all involved, we may achieve a real understanding between the stakeholders that often enter into conflict with respect to this issue.
Na prática clínica, o conflito pela objeção de consciência emerge ao confrontar-se o direito do profissional objetor à liberdade de consciência e o direito das pessoas à atenção em saúde oportuna, de qualidade e sem discriminação. Frente a uma objeção resulta imprescindível considerar a existência de requisitos e limites, descartando a sua utilização para eludir a responsabilidade profissional ou como forma encoberta de práticas discriminatórias. Mediante um estudo exploratório, qualitativo, se analisaram os principais significados e aspectos bioéticos relacionados com a objeção de consciência profissional na atenção à saúde sexual e reprodutiva de adolescentes da Região Metropolitana, em Santiago do Chile. Os resultados evidenciam que, na medida que se estabelecem as bases éticas e legais para resguardar os direitos fundamentais, baseados no respeito pela dignidade de todos os envolvidos, poderemos lograr um real entendimento entre as partes que com frequência entram em conflito a respeito desta matéria.
Assuntos
Humanos , Masculino , Adolescente , Feminino , Consciência , Recusa em Tratar/ética , Relações Profissional-Paciente , Saúde Reprodutiva , Bioética , Chile , Conflito de Interesses , Direitos Humanos , Entrevistas como Assunto , Pesquisa QualitativaRESUMO
A busca pelo respeito da pluralidade em termos de diversidade cultural, étnica, religiosa, filosófica, de crença, de não crença, de convicções, de opções sexuais, enfim, de diferentes formas de liberdade de consciência torna-se cada vez mais necessária visando uma convivência harmônica e pacífica em sociedade. Para tanto, a laicidade é um instrumento social capaz de garantir a liberdade de consciência, a autonomia do civil frente ao religioso e a não discriminação, uma vez que pode ser definida como a transição a um regime social cujas instituições políticas se legitimam crescentemente pela soberania popular e não por elementos sagrados ou religiosos. Atualmente, muitas discussões no contexto da saúde têm trazido à tona questões que envolvem não apenas conflitos em razão de pertencimento religioso, mas também crenças e não crenças de maneira geral, bem como situações envolvendo questões de gênero e de direitos sexuais e reprodutivos. Neste contexto, a laicidade possui aplicabilidade nas questões relativas à saúde de maneira geral, sobretudo naquelas afetas ao pertencimento religioso e aos direitos sexuais e reprodutivos, podendo contribuir fomentando a reflexão sobre o respeito pela diferença, a não discriminação e a garantia da liberdade de consciência de cada um.
The search of respect for diversity in terms of diversity of culture, ethnicity, religion, philosophy, belief, lack of belief, convictions, sexual options, ultimately, regarding the different forms of freedom of conscience becomes increasingly necessary in order to achieve peaceful and harmonious social coexistence. With this purpose, laicity is a social instrument that can guarantee freedom of conscience, independence of the civil aspects from religious aspects and from non-discrimination, since it can be defined as the transition to a social system whose political institutions are increasingly legitimized by popular sovereignty instead of religious or sacred elements. Today, many discussions in the context of health care have brought up issues that involve not only conflicts related to religion, but also beliefs and lack of belief in general, as well as situations involving issues of gender and sexual and reproductive rights. In this context, laicity can be applied to health issues in general, especially those affecting the religious bonds and sexual and reproductive rights, which may stimulate reflection on the respect for difference, non-discrimination and guarantee of everyone's freedom of conscience.