PowerPoint Presentation CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION Group 18 Amber Singh Thapa Anjani Sreehari Biplaw Bhattarai Brittany Langhoff Mainka Soni Rakshya Pandey Bhandari Sandy Zhang What is Conscientious...

PowerPoint Presentation
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION
                    Group 18 
Amber Singh Thapa
Anjani Sreehari
Biplaw Bhattarai
Brittany Langhoff
Mainka Soni
Rakshya Pandey Bhandari
Sandy Zhang
What is Conscientious Objection
Conscientious objection arises when a doctor, due to a disagreement with his or her own personal convictions or values, refuses to provide or engage in a lawful, valid treatment or procedure that would be considered medically acceptable under the circumstances under professional guidelines. ("Conscientious objection - 2019," 2019) 
Conscientious Objection & Nursing
(ANMF Policy, 2020)
Nurses reserve the privilege to decline to participate in procedures that they consider unacceptable ( conscientious objection ) to strongly held religious beliefs, emphatically held strict, moral, and moral convictions
In practicing their right to CO, nurses must take all sensible strides to guarantee that the individual's inclination, quality of care, security, and advance consideration mandates are not Compromised.
Nurses must not refuse to participate during critical life-saving measures or methodology when there is no capacity to securely give up care.
Nurses are responsible to express their CO well in advance
Law, Regulation and Policy
The right to conscientious objection by healthcare professionals, including nurses, is established and protected by various legislation, both under domestic legislation and more
oadly by international human rights laws. In practice, this right is further protected by nursing and healthcare policy.
The concept of Conscientious Objection within the law is founded on a human right to act according to individuals' religious beliefs or conscience (Dickens, 2009).
It is important to recognize that this objection should be based upon a strong belief or conviction arisen from a moral assessment. For the purposes of compliance with conscientious objection, it is not sufficient to object or refuse healthcare on the basis of prejudice (Kennedy & Gru
, 2005).
The right to conscientious objection should be carefully balanced against the interest and protection of the patient’s welfare (Odell et al., 2014).
Areas where conscientious objection may be particularly pertinent are often catered to by specific legislation that include conscience clauses, such as the examples below;
Abortion Law Reform Act 2008 (Vic)
Termination of Pregnancy Law Reform Act 2017 (NT)
Abortion Law Reform Act 2019 (NSW)
Policies by nursing regulatory bodies and professional organisations, include the below examples;
Code of conduct for nurses in Australia (Nursing and Midwifery Board Australia, 2018).
ANMF policy: Conscientious objection (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, 2020).
In some states within Australia, there is a legal obligation to refer a patient to another practitioner in circumstances where the conscientiously object to performing or being involved with a procedure, however, there is no requirement legally to register or acknowledge the objection.
Impact of Conscience in Nurses
Troubled Conscience (Lamb et al., 2017)
Feeling of Guilt
Moral Distress
Conflict of personal belief with Professional Belief
Stress of Conscience
Most Common Example's where CO is Expressed
Abortion
Sterilization
Blood transfusion
End of life care
Conscientious Objection
(CO) and Abortion
Australian Abortion Law: legislation prohibiting unlawful abortion
Different state laws in Australia for Abortion and related CO.
Decriminalized in all states. (SA the latest in March 2021)
Example: Victoria Government. Abortion Law Reform Act, XXXXXXXXXXVictorian Law Reform Commission, 2021)
CO in Abortion - Rights of healthcare workers or unethical refusal to treat?
Rights: sacred cow.
Ethicists: no defense for CO in healthcare and reproductive health.
Conscientious Objection (CO) and Abortion
An abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy by using medicine or surgery to remove the em
yo or fetus and placenta from the uterus.
Major International health organizations state Abortion as simple and safe medical procedure.
Abortion is the most common and widely cited example of CO in healthcare worldwide.
CO in Abortion is a vigorously debated issue in healthcare as it is related to reproductive health, women’s health, and women’s rights.
Most CO related to Abortion are due to personal thoughts, moral values, and religious beliefs. (Blackshaw & Rodger, 2019)
REFERENCE
ANMF Policy. (2020). Conscientious objection. Australian Nursing & Midwifery Federation. https:
anmf.org.au/documents/policies/P_Conscientious_Objection.pdf
Lamb, C., Evans, M., Babenko-Mould, Y., Wong, C. A., & Kirkwood, K. W XXXXXXXXXXConscience, conscientious objection, and nursing: A concept analysis. Nursing Ethics, 26(1), 37-49. https:
doi.org/10.1177/ XXXXXXXXXX

Conscientious objection XXXXXXXXXXMarch 27). AMA. 
https:
ama.com.au/position-statement/conscientious-objection-2019
References
Blackshaw, B. P., & Rodger, D XXXXXXXXXXWhy we should still accommodate conscientios objection for abortion. Journal of Medical Ethics. https:
logs.bmj.com/medical-ethics/2019/09/02/why-we-should-still-accommodate-conscientious-objection-for-abortion
Victorian Law Reform Commission XXXXXXXXXXAbortion. https:
www.lawreform.vic.gov.au/all-projects/abortion
References
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation XXXXXXXXXXANMF policy: Conscientious objection. https:
anmf.org.au/documents/policies/P_Conscientious_Objection.pdf
Dickens B. M XXXXXXXXXXLegal protection and limits of conscientious objection: when conscientious objection is unethical. Medicine and law, 28(2), 337–347.
Kennedy, I., & Gru
, A XXXXXXXXXXMedical Law (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Nursing and Midwifery Board Australia (NMBA XXXXXXXXXXCode of conduct for nurses in Australia. http:
www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/documents/default.aspx?record=WD17%2F23850&dbid=AP&chksum=L8j874hp3DTlC1Sj4klHag%3D%3D
Odell, J., Abhyankar, R., Malcolm, A., & Rua, A XXXXXXXXXXConscientious objection in the healing professions: A readers guide to the ethical and social issues. https:
scholarworks.iupui.edu
itstream/handle/1805/4391/conscientiousobjectionnurses.pdf;jsessionid=2B4347D324C555E8750B8FF3B503134D?sequence=1