Colm Fitzpatrick
There should be a “wide and generous” acknowledgement of the freedom of conscience by the Government for healthcare professionals, a group of medical practitioners and lawyers have said.
The comments come after an educational conference hosted by the Medico Legal Alliance on October 13, entitled The Legal Aspects of Clinical Decision Making, which brought together both healthcare professionals and lawyers to discuss topics such as decision-making and conscientious objection.
A spokesperson for the event told this paper there was agreement among attendees that the “balance hasn’t been struck correctly by the Government” when it comes to conscientiously objecting to being involved in abortion, and that this issue in the proposed abortion bill “seems to have been a straight cut and paste” from The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013.
“It’s easy to see why the right to life of the mother will outweigh issues of freedom of conscience and therefore you draw it narrowly,” the spokesperson said, adding that this weighing changes when abortion is requested when risk to life is not in the equation.
The spokesperson also noted that there should be a “wide measure of appreciation” to the freedom of conscience of hospital administrative staff, and that a solution needs to be reached on the issue.