MANDATING DISCLOSURE OF CONSCIENCE-BASED LIMITATIONS ON MEDICAL PRACTICE

Area of Science:

• Bioethics
• Medical Law
• Healthcare Policy

Background:

• Conflicts arise between healthcare providers' conscientious objections and patients' access to care.
• Existing conscience laws face criticism for being too broad or too narrow.
• Disagreements persist among stakeholders in law, medicine, and religion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a resolution for conflicts between conscientious objections and patient rights.
• To mitigate tension between stakeholders through a duty of disclosure.
• To enhance patient awareness of practice limitations.

Main Methods:

• Legal and ethical analysis of conscientious objection.
• Examination of existing conscience laws and their criticisms.
• Proposal of statutory duty for healthcare institutions/providers to disclose limitations.

Main Results:

• Disclosure of conscientious objections can prevent egregious denials of treatment.
• Patients would be better informed about available treatment options and limitations.
• This approach aims to improve patient autonomy and access to care.

Conclusions:

• Statutory recognition of a duty to disclose conscientiously motivated practice limitations can ease stakeholder tensions.
• This disclosure duty does not guarantee access but prevents uninformed denial of care.
• Informed patients are better positioned to seek alternative treatment options.