Reevaluating Conscience Clauses

Abstract

Ronit Stahl and Ezekiel Emanuel have recently issued a stark challenge to conscience protections in medical law and ethics. Their argument is flawed, however. They misrepresent the nature and relevance of conscientious protection in the military, misinterpret the scope of consent tendered by modern medical professionals, and offer no reason to think either that conscientious objection harms patient well-being or that such harm should solely determine the permissibility of conscientious objection. Moreover, and most fundamentally, Stahl and Emanuel do not recognize that conscience protections promote moral integrity, a basic aspect of human well-being that justifies protective action.

Keywords: Emmanuel; Stahl; conscience; conscientious objection; consent; integrity; medical ethics; well-being.