Council of Europe Does the Right Thing

As C-FAM reports , representatives in the Council of Europe, the European legislative body that meets in Strasbourg, France, reversed an effort by abortion proponents.

A resolution came before the Council that was designed to make it difficult for medical professionals to refuse to perform or participate in abortions.

The original resolution, known as the McCafferty report , sought to punish medical professionals for refusing to perform procedures against their conscience. It even called for a new registry of conscientious objectors.” Morever, the intent was clear:
“Christian McCafferty, a British politician and main author of the original resolution, said during deliberations that she sought to force private and religious hospitals and clinics to perform abortions.

A group of legislators, however, spearheaded a substitute resolution with exactly the opposite purpose in mind. It stipulated that no “hospital, institution or person may be subject to pressures, or be held liable or suffer discrimination of any kind for refusing to perform, allow or assist an abortions”

The substitute resolution was adopted, laying the basis for a right to medical professionals to opt out of procedures and treatments that their consciences tell them are immoral.

I’m not surprised. As I’ve discovered over a career spent watching multi-cultural overreach in academia, postmodern liberalism fears coercion. It sides with permission over and against prohibition. In this case, it seemed unnecessarily coercive to create an atmosphere of intimidation to force medical professionals to violate their consciences.