Abortion: Three ECHR Judges Undermine the Right to Conscientious Objection
from European Centre for Law & Justice:
In a double decision made public on Thursday 12 March 2020, three judges of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) deprived European midwives of the guarantee of their right to conscientious objection to abortion. This decision (Grimmark and Steen v. Sweden.) can apply, by extension, to the entire medical profession.
To make such a decision, they declared that abortion is an ordinary medical act, and that general access to abortion takes precedence over respect for personal freedom of conscience.
The appeals in question had been lodged by two Swedish midwives who were unable to practise their profession because their requests not to perform abortions were systematically rejected by their employers. These refusals were validated by the Swedish authorities, Sweden being one of the very few countries that do not recognise the right of conscientious objection to abortion. Abortion is “available on demand” up to 18 weeks and happens in one pregnancy out of five.
The ECtHR, seized by the two women, entrusted their applications to a small committee of only three judges, a procedure reserved for simple cases. The judges agreed with the Swedish authorities, ruling that the obligation to perform abortion serves “the legitimate aim of protecting the health of women seeking an abortion”. They also consider that it is necessary to oblige these two midwives to carry out abortions in order to make the practice available throughout Sweden.
Finally, they consider that they have “voluntarily chosen to become a midwife and apply for vacant posts while knowing that this would mean assisting also in abortion cases”.
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