This paper reports of a case where a physician conscientiously objected to prescribing PrEP to a bisexual patient so as not to “enable immoral sexual behavior.” The case represents an instance of conscience creep, a phenomenon whereby clinicians invoke conscientious objection in sometimes objectionable ways that extend beyond the traditional contexts of abortion, sterilization, or physician aid in dying. This essay uses a reasonability view of conscientious objection to argue that the above case represents a discriminatory instance of conscience creep that should not be permitted.
WicclairMR.Conscientious Objection in Health Care: An Ethical Analysis.
Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2011.
2.
CantorJBaumK.The limits of conscientious objection – may pharmacists refuse to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception?N Engl J Med2004;
351: 2008–2012.
3.
BrockDW.Conscientious refusal by physicians and pharmacists: who is obligated to do what, and why?Theor Med Bioeth2008;
29: 187–200.
4.
SavulescuJ.Conscientious objection in medicine. BMJ2006;
332: 294–297.
5.
CardRF.The inevitability of assessing reasons in debates about conscientious objection in medicine. Camb Q Healthc Ethics2017;
26: 82–96.
6.
EberlJT.Protecting reasonable conscientious refusals in health care. Theor Med Bioeth2019;
40: 565–517.
PriestM.Transgender children and the right to transition: medical ethics when parents mean well but cause harm. Am J Bioeth2019;
19: 45–59.
9.
BockGL.Making martyrs of our children: religiously based requests in pediatrics. Ethics Med2012;
28: 89–98.
10.
RegnerusM.How different are the adult children of parents who have same-sex relationships? Findings from the new family structures study. Soc Sci Res2012;
41: 752–770.
