Klauzula sumienia w zawodach medycznych w świetle standardów Rady Europy

The development of biomedicine causes a situation when health care providers are compelled to decide on various medical, moral or even religious matters. The conflict between their conscience (their beliefs and views on what is right and what is wrong) and the duty that they are under, has appeared increasingly in the recent years. The especially difficult situation occurs when their duties are conflicting with their perceptions of the nature of medical services, including abortion and euthanasia. To conclude – the question arises as to whether the medical doctor is a servant (or hostage) of patients or he has the right to refuse to treat a patient when he believes that the requested treatment is morally wrong (conscientious objection). The main theme of the article is an analysis of the regulations of Council of Europe in the matter of conscientious objection.