Requirement to carry out elective abortions part of National Maternity Hospital job spec
The Irish Times
The Catholic bishops have expressed regret at pre-conditions for applicants in recent advertisements for medical posts at the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin.
One of the main preconditions for applicants for the posts in obstetrics and anaesthesia was a requirement to carry out elective abortions if appointed. . . [T]he bishops said “this precondition runs totally counter to a doctor’s constitutional and human right to freedom of conscience. . .” [Full text]
It appears from the news reports that two positions have been reserved for physicians willing to provide abortions so as to ensure that the National Maternity Hospital can provide abortions now permitted under Irish law. If the hospital did not ensure that someone was willing to provide the service, it is likely that objecting physicians on staff would have been subjected to pressure to do so. By staffing two positions with physicians willing to provide abortions, the hospital is facilitating both access to the service and accommodation of objecting staff. Physicians who object to providing or facilitating abortion are presumably free to continue to apply for other obstetrical posts, in which their conscientious convictions will be respected.