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The recent LifeNews report, citing research by C-Fam (Centre for Family and Human Rights), suggests that the World Health Organization (WHO) is pressing ahead with new guidelines which could compel doctors and nurses to perform abortions, even if doing so conflicts with their moral or religious convictions. From a pro-life standpoint, this is not just troubling, it is a grave assault on the fundamental rights of conscience that must be vigorously opposed.
Conscience, that deep moral conviction that guides what individuals believe is right or wrong, is a bedrock civil liberty. Healthcare workers should not be forced to participate in acts they believe are unjust. SPUC argues that any guidelines or laws removing or weakening protections for conscientious objection cross a moral red line.
The crux of the concern is that WHO’s new language insists that health professionals “must align their beliefs with their professional duties,” which in practice means subordinating personal conviction to the demand for procedural compliance with abortion access. This could penalise, or even remove from practice, those who refuse to participate in abortions. For SPUC, this isn’t a theoretical worry: it risks a healthcare culture where dissenting voices are silenced, where moral integrity is treated as a hindrance rather than a valued dimension of human rights.
Furthermore, in many countries, particularly low- and middle-income nations, legal safeguards for conscience rights are weak or non-existent. The WHO guidelines could serve as de facto pressure, pushing governments and employers to impose abortion even where laws protect objectors. Professional repercussions could include loss of job, loss of registration, or forced participation in abortion.
SPUC would stress that protecting unborn life must go hand in hand with protecting those who speak up for that life. If healthcare staff are forced to violate their consciences, two major harms follow: the unborn child loses its protector; and the healthcare worker suffers moral injury, being coerced into violating what they believe to be deeply wrong.
What then should be done? First, WHO should publicly reaffirm that conscience rights are non-negotiable, and that medical professionals must never be penalised for refusing to participate in abortion. Second, governments must embed conscience protections in law: not just as optional exemptions, but as enforceable rights. Third, the public must be made aware that access to abortion should not come at the cost of moral coercion.
WHO’s proposed guidelines represent more than just a policy shift, they threaten the moral agency of individuals. SPUC calls on policymakers, medical professional bodies, and citizens to reject any compulsion of healthcare workers to act against their conscience, to honour both life unborn and the dignity of those charged with caring for life.
