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Conscience in Reproductive Health Care

Prioritizing Patient Interests

By (author) Carolyn McLeod
Format: Hardback
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom
Published: 30th Apr 2020
Dimensions: w 133mm h 220mm d 18mm
Weight: 490g
ISBN-10: 0198732724
ISBN-13: 9780198732723
Barcode No: 9780198732723
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Synopsis
Conscience in Reproductive Health Care responds to the growing worldwide trend of health care professionals conscientiously refusing to provide abortions and similar reproductive health services in countries where these services are legal and professionally accepted. Carolyn McLeod argues that conscientious objectors in health care should prioritize the interests of patients in receiving care over their own interest in acting on their conscience. She defends this "prioritizing approach" to conscientious objection over the more popular "compromise approach" without downplaying the importance of health care professionals having a conscience or the moral complexity of their conscientious refusals. McLeod's central argument is that health care professionals who are gatekeepers of services such as abortions are fiduciaries for their patients and for the public they are licensed to serve. As such, they owe a duty of loyalty to these beneficiaries and should give primacy to their beneficiaries' interests in accessing care. This conclusion is informed by what McLeod believes is morally at stake for the main parties to the conflicts generated by conscientious refusals: the objector and the patient. What is at stake, according to McLeod, depends on the relevant socio-political context, but typically includes the objector's integrity and the patient's interest in avoiding harm.

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Overall, McLeod's book is an excellent contribution to the literature on conscientious objection in healthcare. She shows how the fiduciary relationship requires healthcare professionals to prioritise patient interests and that this severely restricts conscientious refusals of standard services. Her arguments pose a serious problem for those who think that conscientious refusals of service are compatible with good healthcare. * Doug McConnell, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews * ... remain[s] faithful to bioethics' essence of an eminently philosophical enterprise, where a lot of conceptual and ethical reflection goes into justifying the conclusions... very welcome additions to the bioethical debate on conscientious objection in health care. * Alberto Giubilini, Francesca Minerva, Bioethics * Conscience in reproductive health care is a useful addition to an already extensive literature on conscientious refusals to treat. McLeod carefully draws on and critically evaluates existing research and uses well-chosen examples to illustrate and support her claims * Carolyn Mason, University of Canterbury, Metascience *