Refusing to carry out abortions or sterilizations on grounds of conscientious objection involves punitive forms of discrimination against doctors i n various European countries. We have gathered some of their experiences Conscientious objection must be “respected by everyone, especially by legislators”. Meeting a group of Catholic doctors in Rome, on the margins of their international meeting, the Holy Father became the spokesman of their problems and their denunciations. From Austria to the countries of Eastern Europe, from Great Britain to Belgium, gynaecologists who do not agree to carry out abortions and sterilizations are subjected to a series of pressures and forms of discrimination that sooner or later oblige them to abandon their profession. SLOVAKIA Marek Drab, age 28, physician. He was forced to renounce specialization in gynaecology because “putting Christian principles in practice and acting according to my conscience meant a war for me”. “After graduating in the faculty of medicine in Bratislava – says Marek – I began to work in a gynaecological department in a state hospital. I had chosen this field of medicine because during my studies I had remained struck by the uniqueness and complexity of life. No one more than the gynaecologist has the opportunity to experience the wonderful power and at the same time the vulnerability of life, from the moment of its conception”. But Slovakia has one of the most liberal legislations in favour of abortion in Europe.”In spite of that – Marek adds – I wished to follow my vocation just the same, believing I could follow my profession of gynaecologist with honesty and professional skill”. That wasn’t possible: “the only entrance ticket to a department of gynaecology is to agree to carry out abortions. Anyone who refuses to so – explains Marek – has two options: either being completely discriminated against in work and regarded as a bigot by his colleagues, or giving in to the pressures to conform. Reacting to my refusal, the director removed me to another department. During that period I was the target of insults and threats”. BELGIUM Father and son, united by the same destiny. Both were victims of dismissal and discrimination simply because they said no to all those medical practices that may place the life of a child at risk. “In 1998 – recounts André O. Devos – following the merging of my hospital with another in the city of Bruges I was forced to join a team of four other doctors and form part of their financial pool. I knew that most of their earnings came from the proceeds of contraception and surgical sterilizations. For that reason I refused to enter the pool. Following this decision, I was kindly shown the door; a letter followed, notifying me of my dismissal. Andrè’s younger son – Timothy Devos – was not permitted to become a gynaecologist. “Right from the start he was forced to take part in surgical sterilizations and prescribe contraceptive and day-after pills. The moment came when two patients turned to him and asked him to carry out abortions on them. Timothy thus found himself faced by a momentous decision. For a certain period he through he could reach a compromise. If all the Catholic doctors quit this hospital – he thought – nothing will change. But then not even Timothy could resist any longer. He abandoned his specialization in gynaecology and now works as an intern”. SWITzERLAND “In Switzerland too – says Nikolaus Zwicky-Aeberhard, President of the Association of Swiss Catholic Physicians – life is becoming increasingly difficult for a young doctor specialized in gynaecology and obstetrics if he refuses to perform abortions”. “Our request is simple – explains the president of the Swiss Catholic physicians: as regard abortion, contraception, sterilization and in vitro fertilisation, we ask for the right of conscientious objection without this choice being a cause for discrimination or an obstacle to our professional career“. Freedom of conscience and thought, and the right to perform a job in full freedom of conscience – he adds – are recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and have been accepted as fundamental rights by the Constitutions of many countries, including the federal Constitution of Switzerland. On the basis of these presuppositions, “it is difficult to understand why it is still possible for someone not to be able to normally practice his own profession if he exercises his right of objection”. a cura di Maria Chiara Biagioni
