Madrid, Spain, Jun 21, 2011 / 10:43 am
The Council of Europe will receive a report denouncing the attacks on the right to conscientious objection of health care professionals who do not wish to perform abortions.
“The report lays out in detail the causes of the violation of this fundamental right, and it gives precise examples by name of health care professionals who have been forced to participate in abortions. It also provides information on ‘genetic screening’ used for eugenic purposes,” the Association for the Defense of the Right to Conscientious Objection announced.
The report will be presented on June 22.
The report was drafted in conjunction with the European Center for Law and Justice and focuses on the discrimination suffered by health care professionals who seek to exercise this fundamental right which is recognized under European and international law but has been violated “in an organized way” since Spain’s new law on abortion went into effect on July 5, 2010.
It also criticized the requirement of health care workers who refuse to perform abortions to register as conscientious objectors with the government. “This results in the creation of a registry of names of conscientious objectors and is a tool for pressuring health care personnel.”