Conscience in Reproductive Health Care

Carolyn McLeod is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at the University of Western Ontario. Her philosophical research centres on pressing issues in public policy, particularly matters that concern the creation or dissolution of families with children. She has been directly involved in policy discussions in Canada about the right of health care professionals to make conscientious objections, public funding for in vitro fertilization, and improvements to our adoption systems. McLeod is the author of Self-Trust and Reproductive Autonomy (MIT 2002) and co-editor of Family-Making: Contemporary Ethical Challenges (Oxford 2014) and The Healthy Embryo: Social, Biomedical, Legal and Philosophical Perspectives (Cambridge 2010).

Overall, McLeod's book is an excellent contribution to the literature on conscientious objection in healthcare. She shows how the fiduciary relationship requires healthcare professionals to prioritise patient interests and that this severely restricts conscientious refusals of standard services. Her arguments pose a serious problem for those who think that conscientious refusals of service are compatible with good healthcare.

• Introduction Part I: What's at Stake 1: The Value of Conscience 2: Harm or Mere Inconvenience? 3: Damage to Trust Part II: Regulating Conscientious Refusals 4: Why not Compromise? 5: Fidelity to Patients 6: Fidelity to Purposes Conclusion