The Physician's Conscience, Conscience Clauses, and Religious Belief: A Catholic Perspective

This Essay explores how physicians may handle conflicts of conscience facing Roman Catholic health practitioners regarding "human life" issues, especially through conscience clauses. In five parts, the author examines "first, why conscientious objection is so important in our day; second, the moral grounding for freedom in the exercise of conscience; third, the components of the physician's conscience; fourth, specific conflicts of conscience for Catholic physicians and institutions; and fifth, competing models of conflict resolution."