Professional Integrity Conscience Objection

Objecting to providing a legal procedure/treatment requested by a patient/family because doing so violates the provider’s professional ethical obligations.
Professional integrity is informed by several contributing factors:

Organizational policy

Forbidding legal procedures that are within a standard of care can be referred to as Institutional Objections. Faith-based health care facilities have Ethical and Religious Directives [KB1] (ERD’s) which prevent them from providing some services (e.g., contraception, sterilization, abortion)
- The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, often called the ERDs or the Directives, is the document that offers moral guidance, drawn from the Catholic Church’s theological and moral teachings, on various aspects of health care delivery. The ERDs restrict access to such services as contraception, sterilization, and abortion. The Directives can be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Federal and state regulations and policies

Federal statutes (The Church Amendments, Public Health Service Act – “Coats-Snowe Amendment”, The Weldon Amendment, The Affordable Care Act – the “ACA”) protect health care provider conscience rights and prohibit recipients of certain federal funds from discriminating against health care providers who refuse to participate in certain services based on moral objections or religious beliefs.
Whether LGBTQ+ patients receive anti-discrimination protections varies from state to state. Providers’ conscience objections are federally protected, and in some states can be invoked to refuse treatment to LGBTQ+ patients if treating these patients conflicts with their religious or moral beliefs. Visit Guttmacher Institute State Legislation Tracker for more detailed information.

Ethical responsibilities such as the Hippocratic Oath

Primary tenet of Hippocratic Oath is “first do no harm” which is open to institutional and provider interpretation. Versions of the Oath over time linked here.