Protection of Conscience Project News
Service, not Servitude
Dr. Carmen Rodriguez, the president of the Asturias Medical College, the official physician’s association for the region of Asturias in the north of Spain, told a local paper that society can make laws concerning abortion, but cannot force physicians to participate in them. [LifeSite News]
Dr. Manuel Resa, a physician who has resisted attempts to force him to participate in abortions, has been granted an injunction by Superior Tribunal of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia in Spain. He appealed to the Tribunal after a lower court refused to grant the injunction. This means that Dr. Resa will not be forced to participate in abortion pending the outcome of his civil suit on seeking recognition of his freedom to refuse to facilitate abortion.
The Obama administration’s alternative scheme for providing insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs is being marketed as cost-free by its supporters. They argue that the coverage can be provided by insurance companies without additional cost to the employer because it is actually cheaper to offer health insurance with birth control coverage than without it. Others insist that costs will be passed on to the employer through insurance premiums. [Time; NPR]
The UNESCO Chair in Bioethics at the University of Barcelona held a seminar on “Abortion and conscientious objection” in early February. The Chair’s director, Maria Casado, told the press that Spain should establish a national registry of physicians who object to abortion as a method of ensuring access to the procedure. While she claimed to support a right to conscientious objection, she said that “When [it] is transformed into a collective stance for ideological reasons, it turns into civil disobedience.” [ELN]
Spokesmen for the Obama administration have stated that the President is committed to the policy of forcing universal insurance coverage for surgical sterilization, contraceptives, and embryocidal drugs. The administration opposes the passage protection of conscience legislation like S2092 -the Religious Freedom Protection Act of 2012, S2043 -the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012, and S1467 – Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011. [Washington Post; Reuters]