Conscientious Objection in Australia: A Comparison between Abortion and Voluntary Assisted Dying

Abstract

Abortion and voluntary assisted dying (VAD) are areas of health care that elicit passionate and emotional responses. As a result of the diverse perspectives relating to these forms of medical care, Australian law allows for conscientious objection in both contexts. This article considers the role of conscientious objection in health care in Australia, with a particular focus on abortion and VAD. In begins by considering the legal position, highlighting some of the key differences in the way that conscientious objection is regulated in these two contexts and between Australian jurisdictions. It observes that jurisdictions which have legalised both abortion and VAD have not necessarily adopted the same approach to the question of conscientious objection as it pertains to abortion versus VAD. The article then turns to consider the reality of conscientious objection "on the ground" across these two domains in an effort to understand this distinction.

Keywords: Australia; abortion; conscientious objection; voluntary assisted dying.