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Conscience, conscientious objections, and medicine.

Rosamond Rhodes1

  • 1Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Annenberg 12-42, Box 1076, New York, NY, 10029, USA. rosamond.rhodes@mssm.edu.

Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics
|December 5, 2019
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Medical professionals claiming conscientious objection must bear the burdens of their convictions. Refusing duties and imposing them on patients or colleagues misuses the term "conscientious objector".

Keywords:
ConscienceConscientious objectionDutyHenry David ThoreauMahatma GandhiMartin Luther King Jr.Medical professionalsMedicinePatientsPromise

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Area of Science:

  • Medical Ethics
  • Philosophy of Conscience

Background:

  • The concept of conscientious objection is debated in medicine.
  • Philosophical views define conscience as a moral sense or dictate of reason.
  • Key agreement exists on obeying conscience and upholding promises.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the philosophical basis of conscientious objection.
  • To define the essential characteristics of a conscientious objector.
  • To evaluate medical professionals' claims of conscientious objection.

Main Methods:

  • Review of philosophical literature on conscience.
  • Analysis of historical exemplars of conscientious objection (Thoreau, Gandhi, King Jr.).
  • Application of findings to contemporary medical practice.

Main Results:

  • Conscience is viewed as either a moral sense or reason's dictate.
  • A critical element of conscientious objection is the willingness to bear personal burdens.
  • Medical professionals prioritizing self-interest over patient welfare misuse the term 'conscientious objector'.

Conclusions:

  • True conscientious objection requires accepting personal consequences.
  • Medical professionals unwilling to bear burdens and imposing them on others are not genuine conscientious objectors.
  • Claims of conscientious objection must align with a commitment to endure burdens, not shift them.