The Conscientious Objection to legal Abortion: A comparative perspective

Abstract

Today conscience, which is influenced by culture and society, is considered as ‘a kind of self-regulation of the system through its internalization within man’. In this context, to the objection genuinely determined by religious concerns other political or philosophical reasons are added, which in turn secularize the phenomenon of conscientious objection. Objection to abortion, in particular, consists in refusing to perform abortive practices and acts aiding their realization. At present, conscientious objection is at the centre of heated debates in various countries. Therefore, this paper suggests adopting a comparative perspective in order to address issues concerning the extent to which physicians may refuse to participate in abortion procedures.