This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Take the CME quiz:
 Vol. 14 No. 3, September 2005
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mears, B. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Mears, B. J.
Related Collections
Right arrow Bioethics

AAP Grand Rounds 14:30 (2005)
© 2005 American Academy of Pediatrics

BIOETHICS

Refusal to Provide Essential Care: Duties of Providers

Sources: (1) Manasse HR. Conscientious objection and the pharmacist. Science. 2005;308:1558–1559.[Abstract/Free Full Text] (2) Charo RA. The celestial fire of conscience – refusing to deliver medical care. N Engl J Med. 2005;352:2471–2473.[Free Full Text]

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

These 2 articles address the issue of "conscientious objection" among health care providers – the provider’s refusal to provide certain services or medications that he or she feels are morally objectionable. State laws vary regarding the extent to which they allow conscientious objection and the conditions under which they allow it. The author of the first article is the executive vice-president of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. He argues that while pharmacists should be allowed to remain true to their consciences, patients with valid prescriptions (eg, for emergency contraception) should be allowed access to legal medications. Legal requirements to dispense prescriptions "without . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Brenda Jean Mears, MD, FAAP
Children’s Medical Center, Dallas, TX and Medical Center of Plano, Plano, TX