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How to Allow Conscientious Objection in Medicine While Protecting Patient Rights.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Ancell, A; Sinnott-Armstrong, W
Published in: Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees
January 2017

Paradigmatic cases of conscientious objection in medicine are those in which a physician refuses to provide a medical service or good because doing so would conflict with that physician's personal moral or religious beliefs. Should such refusals be allowed in medicine? We argue that (1) many conscientious objections to providing certain services must be allowed because they fall within the range of freedom that physicians have to determine which services to offer in their practices; (2) at least some conscientious objections to serving particular groups of patients should be allowed because they are not invidiously discriminatory; and (3) even in cases of invidiously discriminatory conscientious objections, legally prohibiting individual physicians from refusing to serve patients on the basis of such objections is not always the best solution.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees

DOI

EISSN

1469-2147

ISSN

0963-1801

Publication Date

January 2017

Volume

26

Issue

1

Start / End Page

120 / 131

Related Subject Headings

  • Religion and Medicine
  • Refusal to Treat
  • Physicians
  • Patient Rights
  • Morals
  • Humans
  • Freedom
  • Decision Making
  • Conscience
  • Applied Ethics
 

Citation

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Ancell, A., & Sinnott-Armstrong, W. (2017). How to Allow Conscientious Objection in Medicine While Protecting Patient Rights. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics : CQ : The International Journal of Healthcare Ethics Committees, 26(1), 120–131. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0963180116000694
Ancell, Aaron, and Walter Sinnott-Armstrong. “How to Allow Conscientious Objection in Medicine While Protecting Patient Rights.Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics : CQ : The International Journal of Healthcare Ethics Committees 26, no. 1 (January 2017): 120–31. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0963180116000694.
Ancell A, Sinnott-Armstrong W. How to Allow Conscientious Objection in Medicine While Protecting Patient Rights. Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees. 2017 Jan;26(1):120–31.
Ancell, Aaron, and Walter Sinnott-Armstrong. “How to Allow Conscientious Objection in Medicine While Protecting Patient Rights.Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics : CQ : The International Journal of Healthcare Ethics Committees, vol. 26, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp. 120–31. Epmc, doi:10.1017/s0963180116000694.
Ancell A, Sinnott-Armstrong W. How to Allow Conscientious Objection in Medicine While Protecting Patient Rights. Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees. 2017 Jan;26(1):120–131.
Journal cover image

Published In

Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees

DOI

EISSN

1469-2147

ISSN

0963-1801

Publication Date

January 2017

Volume

26

Issue

1

Start / End Page

120 / 131

Related Subject Headings

  • Religion and Medicine
  • Refusal to Treat
  • Physicians
  • Patient Rights
  • Morals
  • Humans
  • Freedom
  • Decision Making
  • Conscience
  • Applied Ethics