In the terrain of conscience

It’s called “Law of religious freedom and conscience” and already it’s not liked by many people because it’s seen as a move to limit religious freedom in Spain. The Spanish legal code has hitherto understood conscientious objection as “a refusal to perform services, especially military service, by invoking ethical or religious grounds”. But there exists a legislative vacuum in other cases, such as conscientious objection to a subject now compulsory on the Spanish school curriculum, “Education for Citizenship”, or abortion, stem-cell research, and prescriptions for the day-after pill. The Spanish government has announced a future regulation of conscientious objection within its planned “Law on Religious Freedom” which would not admit cases of conscientious objection outside military service. In this way the aim is to ensure that no use is made of the right to conscientious objection in cases such as abortion. The Minister of Justice, Francisc Caamaño, has underlined that one cannot object to everything and that the position of conscience “does not exempt someone from obeying the law”. So the law could force someone to act against his/her conscience. In the view of “Profesionales por la Ética”, on the other hand, religious freedom, freedom of worship and of religion, is “one of the citizen’s fundamental rights”. The general secretary of the association, Fabián Fernández de Alarcón, referring to the words of the Minister of Justice, has pointed out that “treating the conscience of citizens as an excuse is unacceptable on the part of a responsible politician”, and that the Committee of Bioethics has already asked for a regulation of conscientious objection in cases of abortion. Whereas in the government’s view, objection is only possible where the law permits it (military service), the Spanish Family Forum maintains that the sentence of the Constitutional Court also recognizes conscientious objection in the case of doctors who object to the practice of abortion.Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela, Archbishop of Madrid, has already insisted that Catholic doctors must be able to refuse to carry out abortions by appealing to their right to conscientious objection. The Observatory for Freedom of Religion and Conscience affirms that “conscience is the most intimate and personal measure of the limits to which a person may submit his own acts”. Cardinal Antonio Cañizares suggests conscientious objection to parents who have children at school and don’t wish them to attend classes in the compulsory subject “Education for Citizenship”; he has urged parents to “defend their rights with legitimate means”, pointing out that conscientious objection is “legitimate” and needs to be “guaranteed and respected”. The question transcends the frontiers of Spain. These controversies in fact conduce to a wider reflection on the State’s right to regulate, or repress, consciences, a practice that subtly seems to be in the process of being established in some European democracies. It almost seems that the religious phenomenon is found disturbing, and that a need is felt to restrict with the arms of the law the sacred territory of a person’s own conscience. The good news is that these legislative proposals show that religion is not something confined to the “sacristy” or as irrelevant as some would like to have us believe. There is also a growing realization that Catholics are organizing themselves not only publicly, but also individually, and are making use of their rights. It is just this that is found irritating and that the state would like to rein in. In Spain the religious factor is a factor of impact, a factor that plays a not indifferent role in the life of citizens; at times, moreover, it is more difficult to control because it cuts across party and other divides. Spain is certainly not the cattolicissima Spain of former times, but the Spanish citizens for whom religion is still a matter of importance are not few in number and are making their voice heard. Hope is to be found in this convinced minority. The challenge, also for Europe, is that this minority may succeed in its legitimate struggle to defend its own rights. For in the terrain of conscience no law can claim the right to decide.