(Dec 2014) ‘Dishonourable Disobedience’: Why Refusal to Treat in Reproductive Healthcare Is Not Conscientious Objection.

Christian Fiala and Joyce H. Arthur. Woman – Psychosomatic Gynaecology and Obstetrics. December 2014 (first published online March 2014).  www.sciencedirect.com

Synopsis: A comprehensive paper that uniquely delves into the underlying premises of CO to show that it is fundamentally contradictory and unworkable, and has nothing in common with the military CO from which it is supposedly derived. Current laws and practices in various countries around CO in reproductive healthcare show that it is frequently abused, with harmful impacts on women’s healthcare and rights. CO in reproductive health is not actually Conscientious Objection, but Dishonourable Disobedience (DD) to laws and ethical codes. It should be dealt with like any other failure to perform one’s professional duty, through enforcement and disciplinary measures.