Conscience, Conflict, and Health Care: A Critical Examination of the Conflict-of-Interest Argument against...

I critically examine a conflict-of-interest argument against conscientious objection in health care. This argument claims that conscientious objection is analogous to conflict of interest in which objecting professionals place their personal interest above patients' health, which violates the healthcare professional's primary ethical obligation. The argument concludes that conscientious objection in health care is impermissible. I argue that this argument proceeds from false or dubious premises. First, it categorizes conscientious objection with conflict of interest. I argue that conscientious objection is not analogous to conflict of interest: conscientious objection lacks key features that make conflict of interest ethically problematic; and conscientious objection exhibits a key feature that makes it ethically incompatible with conflict of interest. Second, the argument assumes that conscientious objection is likely to harm patient health. I argue that this assumption lacks strong supporting evidence. I conclude that the argument fails to demonstrate its conclusion.