Odmowa przerwania ciąży a klauzula sumienia lekarza
The Refusal of Abortion and Physician’s Conscience Clause

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the issue of the conscience objection of a physician, who refuses to carry out an abortion on the basis of moral or religious beliefs. The conscience objection belongs to human rights protected by Polish Constitution and Penal Code. It is also provided in the Article 39 of the Act of 5 December 1996 on Medical and Dental Profession. The right of conscience objection to medical intervention applies in cases, where the conducting of such intervention is a legal duty. Polish Constitution protects humans life in every stage of its development. The admissibility of abortion is an exception to the rule. It is based on circumstances exempting the illegality of the act due to the conflict of goods protected by law. With this kind of construction, no subjective “right to abortion” can be derived that would be accompanied by a duty of the physician to terminate the pregnancy. Such a duty has no legal base in the Article 30 Act on Medical and Dental Profession either, because this provision protects every human being, including the unborn child. It seems then, that the physician has no legal obligation to resolve the possible conflict of child’s right to life and mother rights to health and life by sacrifice of a child. He has only such a possibility, the using of which makes him free from legal liability for abortion. In conclusion, it seems that in most cases of the refusal of abortion by a physician, it is not necessary to refer to the conscience clause.

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