{"id":14292,"date":"2012-04-19T14:24:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-19T21:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292"},"modified":"2023-01-22T17:48:10","modified_gmt":"2023-01-23T01:48:10","slug":"the-physicians-right-of-refusal-what-are-the-limits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292","title":{"rendered":"The physician&#8217;s right of refusal: What are the limits?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Robert D Orr<\/h4>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"161\" height=\"230\" src=\"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/christianbioethics.jpg\" alt=\"Christian Bioethics\" class=\"wp-image-11204\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Christian Bioethics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Abstract<\/strong><br>A physician&#8217;s long-established right to refuse to provide a requested service based on his or her moral beliefs is being challenged. Some authors suggest that physicians should not be licensed if they are unwilling to provide all legal services. Others would grant them the right to refuse, but require them to refer to a willing professional. What are the limits of a physician&#8217;s right to refuse? When such a right is claimed on moral grounds, what residual obligations does the physician have to the patient? How should the profession (or society) decide when a moral claim to a right to refuse is justified? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Orr RD. <a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/cb\/article-abstract\/18\/1\/30\/401063?redirectedFrom=fulltext&amp;login=false\">The physician&#8217;s right of refusal: What are the limits?<\/a> Christ Bioet. 2012;18(1):30-40. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Robert D Orr AbstractA physician&#8217;s long-established right to refuse to provide a requested service based on his or her moral beliefs is being challenged. Some authors suggest that physicians should not be licensed if they are unwilling to provide all legal services. Others would grant them the right to refuse, but require them to refer &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The physician&#8217;s right of refusal: What are the limits?&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[554,2,552,720],"tags":[1256],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-14292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ethics","category-journal-article","category-religion","category-religious-freedom","tag-robert-d-orr"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\r\n<title>The physician&#039;s right of refusal: What are the limits? - Protection of Conscience Project Library<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What are the limits of a physician&#039;s right to refuse? What residual obligations does the objecting physician have to the patient?\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The physician&#039;s right of refusal: What are the limits? - Protection of Conscience Project Library\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What are the limits of a physician&#039;s right to refuse? What residual obligations does the objecting physician have to the patient?\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Protection of Conscience Project Library\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/consciencepro\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-04-19T21:24:00+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-23T01:48:10+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/christianbioethicsog.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"338\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Project Administrator\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/christianbioethicsog.jpg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@consciencpro\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@consciencpro\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Project Administrator\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=14292#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=14292\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Project Administrator\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/263d102b35e3f7822db6d548b2555098\"},\"headline\":\"The physician&#8217;s right of refusal: What are the limits?\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-04-19T21:24:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-23T01:48:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=14292\"},\"wordCount\":136,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=14292#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/christianbioethics.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Robert D Orr\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Ethics\",\"Journal Articles\",\"Religion\",\"Religious Freedom\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=14292#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=14292\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=14292\",\"name\":\"The physician's right of refusal: What are the limits? - Protection of Conscience Project Library\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=14292#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=14292#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/christianbioethics.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-04-19T21:24:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-23T01:48:10+00:00\",\"description\":\"What are the limits of a physician's right to refuse? What residual obligations does the objecting physician have to the patient?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=14292#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=14292\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=14292#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/christianbioethics.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/christianbioethics.jpg\",\"width\":161,\"height\":230,\"caption\":\"Christian Bioethics\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?p=14292#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The physician&#8217;s right of refusal: What are the limits?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Protection of Conscience Project Library\",\"description\":\"Service, not Servitude\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Protecton of Conscience Project\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/projectlogo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/projectlogo.jpg\",\"width\":1123,\"height\":1376,\"caption\":\"Protecton of Conscience Project\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/consciencepro\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/consciencpro\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/263d102b35e3f7822db6d548b2555098\",\"name\":\"Project Administrator\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2f23b26a3373f72c4b33841a689bb10155dcc572564e51c5b3bb99d75ffbd2b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2f23b26a3373f72c4b33841a689bb10155dcc572564e51c5b3bb99d75ffbd2b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/2f23b26a3373f72c4b33841a689bb10155dcc572564e51c5b3bb99d75ffbd2b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Project Administrator\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.consciencelaws.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/library.consciencelaws.org\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The physician's right of refusal: What are the limits? - Protection of Conscience Project Library","description":"What are the limits of a physician's right to refuse? What residual obligations does the objecting physician have to the patient?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"The physician's right of refusal: What are the limits? - Protection of Conscience Project Library","og_description":"What are the limits of a physician's right to refuse? What residual obligations does the objecting physician have to the patient?","og_url":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292","og_site_name":"Protection of Conscience Project Library","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/consciencepro","article_published_time":"2012-04-19T21:24:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-01-23T01:48:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":338,"url":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/christianbioethicsog.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Project Administrator","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/christianbioethicsog.jpg","twitter_creator":"@consciencpro","twitter_site":"@consciencpro","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Project Administrator","Estimated reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292"},"author":{"name":"Project Administrator","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#\/schema\/person\/263d102b35e3f7822db6d548b2555098"},"headline":"The physician&#8217;s right of refusal: What are the limits?","datePublished":"2012-04-19T21:24:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-23T01:48:10+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292"},"wordCount":136,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/christianbioethics.jpg","keywords":["Robert D Orr"],"articleSection":["Ethics","Journal Articles","Religion","Religious Freedom"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292","url":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292","name":"The physician's right of refusal: What are the limits? - Protection of Conscience Project Library","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/christianbioethics.jpg","datePublished":"2012-04-19T21:24:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-23T01:48:10+00:00","description":"What are the limits of a physician's right to refuse? What residual obligations does the objecting physician have to the patient?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/christianbioethics.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/christianbioethics.jpg","width":161,"height":230,"caption":"Christian Bioethics"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?p=14292#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The physician&#8217;s right of refusal: What are the limits?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/","name":"Protection of Conscience Project Library","description":"Service, not Servitude","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#organization","name":"Protecton of Conscience Project","url":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/projectlogo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/projectlogo.jpg","width":1123,"height":1376,"caption":"Protecton of Conscience Project"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/consciencepro","https:\/\/x.com\/consciencpro"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/#\/schema\/person\/263d102b35e3f7822db6d548b2555098","name":"Project Administrator","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f23b26a3373f72c4b33841a689bb10155dcc572564e51c5b3bb99d75ffbd2b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f23b26a3373f72c4b33841a689bb10155dcc572564e51c5b3bb99d75ffbd2b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f23b26a3373f72c4b33841a689bb10155dcc572564e51c5b3bb99d75ffbd2b8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Project Administrator"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.consciencelaws.org"],"url":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14292"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14784,"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14292\/revisions\/14784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14292"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.consciencelaws.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_folder&post=14292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}