A draft bill submitted to the Parliament that will allow doctors to deny a woman in an abortion

A draft bill proposing to allow doctors to deny a woman in an abortion for reasons of conscience was registered in the Verkhovna Rada.

According to the information on the website of the Verkhovna Rada, “The draft Law on amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine regarding the right of the doctor to refuse to perform an abortion for reasons of conscience” №6747 was registered on July 17 and was transferred to the Committee on Public Health on July 20.

According to the bill, the medic has the right to refuse to appoint or conduct an artificial termination of pregnancy from ideological or religious beliefs.

At the same time the doctor is obliged to report about the refusal to the woman, to provide all necessary information on the surgery and also about the health worker or healthcare institution where she can receive these medical services.

The doctor can not be held accountable for refusing to appoint or participate in an abortion.

In addition, it is said that in case of an emergency situation a doctor may refuse to carry out an artificial termination of pregnancy.

The bill states that abortion can be performed at the request of a woman in health care facilities during pregnancy if the term of pregnancy is less than 12 weeks.

In certain cases established by law, an artificial termination of pregnancy can be carried out during pregnancy from 12 to 22 weeks.

Among the initiators of amendments to the legislation are people’s deputies Pavlo Unhurian, Yurii Miroshnychenko, Ihor Mosiichuk, Oksana Bilozir, Oleksandr Bryginets and others.

The authors of the draft bill refer to the Declaration on Medical Abortion, adopted by the World Medical Assembly in 1970 (with changes in 1983).

The Declaration states that if the doctor considers that his convictions do not allow him to advise or perform an abortion, he may withdraw while ensuring the continuity of medical care by a qualified colleague.

In 2010, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted Resolution № 1763 entitled “The right to conscientious objection in lawful medical care”, stating that no person, hospital or institution shall be coerced, held liable or discriminated against in any manner because of a refusal to perform, accommodate, assist or submit to an abortion.