Healthcare responsibilities and conscientious objection.

Full Abstract

The Constitutional Court of Colombia has issued a decision of international significance clarifying legal duties of providers, hospitals, and healthcare systems when conscientious objection is made to conducting lawful abortion. The decision establishes objecting providers' duties to refer patients to non-objecting providers, and that hospitals, clinics, and other institutions have no rights of conscientious objection. Their professional and legal duties are to ensure that patients receive timely services. Hospitals and other administrators cannot object, because they do not participate in the procedures they are obliged to arrange. Objecting providers, and hospitals, must maintain knowledge of non-objecting providers to whom their patients must be referred. Accordingly, medical schools must adequately train, and licensing authorities approve, non-objecting providers. Where they are unavailable, midwives and perhaps nurse practitioners may be trained, equipped, and approved for appropriate service delivery. The Court's decision has widespread implications for how healthcare systems must accommodate conscientious objection and patients' legal rights.

Author information

Author/s: Cook, Rebecca J (RJ); Olaya, Mónica Arango (MA); Dickens, Bernard M (BM);

Affiliation: Faculty of Law, Faculty of Medicine and Joint Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (Int J Gynaecol Obstet), published in Ireland. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Mar; vol 104 (issue 3) : pp 249-52

Dates: Created 2009/02/23; Completed 2009/06/09;

PMID: 19041970, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 6/9/2009, IMS Date: 09 Jun 2009 00:00:00)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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