The Role of Moral Complicity in Issues of Conscience (Conscience in Medicine)

Robert D Orr

The American Journal of Bioethics
The American Journal of Bioethics

Extract
At what point is an individual accountable for involvement in an action that he or she believes to be immoral? This subquestion is, I believe, important to both the religious and the non-religious individual in dealing with matters of personal or professional conscience. . . Lawrence and Curlin (2007) have stated it is important to have a basic understanding of what an individual means when he or she invokes this right of conscience. I believe it is equally important for those individuals, and for the public at large, to understand that there is a spectrum of belief about one’s moral complicity. Thus two people of faith may arrive at different conclusions about when it is appropriate to invoke this right. Such variation is fundamental to the concept of an individual’s conscience.


Orr RD. The Role of Moral Complicity in Issues of Conscience (Conscience in Medicine). Am J Bioeth. 2007;7(12).

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