CONCLUSION OF THE III NATIONAL ANDOC SYMPOSIUM

(Seville, 10 and 11 November 2011)

1. Conscientious objection, insofar as a fundamental right recognized by our Constitutional Court, should not require any legislative regulation for it to be exercised by health care professionals (e.g. physicians, pharmacists, nurses, social assistants, etc.) with respect to those assumptions that affect the beginning and end of life and professional liberty. In keeping with this premise, we assert our opposition to the creation of administrative lists of conscientious objectors and reiterate our resolute willingness to be at the service of any health care professional in need of assistance in this area.

2. Political ideologies must not interfere with the liberty of health care professionals in the relationship between physician and patient, and, generally speaking, in the realm of health care provided to the population at large.

3. The recently approved Medical Code of Conduct contains principles and practical guidelines of incontestable value and clearly affirms the right to conscientious objection, but also includes some ambiguous points, which it would be most opportune to clarify through appropriate interpretation by the professional bodies, and, in particular, the Central Deontology Commission. We are referring in particular to articles 7 (the concept of the medical act) and 55 (conscientious objection and information regarding abortion).

4. The right to information is fundamental in the physician-patient relationship. In the specific case of abortion, however, it must not be forgotten that according to dispositions now in force, the practice of abortion is a comprehensive process that includes information, the presentation of documentation, admission to an authorized centre and actual performance of the abortion if so decided. It will suffice for a physician who practices medicine in both science and conscience to provide information, within the norms of free and informed consent, regarding the clinical nature of an abortion, “the social services to which the expectant woman has a right if she chooses to continue the pregnancy, and the physical and mental risks that can reasonably stem from her decision” (art. 55,1 new Code), without considering himself obliged to provide information about how and where abortions are performed.

5. ANDOC encourages health care professionals to play an active role on the Deontology Commissions of their respective professional bodies.

6. We support the promotion of suitable preventive health care policies grounded in science and not ideology with respect to sexually transmitted diseases, and especially with respect to the use of the day-after-pill; policies beginning from the principles laid down in the new Medical Code of Conduct, as well as articles 12, 13 and 14 of the Code of Pharmaceutical Ethics and Deontology. Taking into consideration the scientific doubts regarding the action mechanism of the pill and its effects on the health of young women, duly considered must be what is set forth in article 25 §2 and 3 of the Code of Conduct:

“2.‐ The physician must provide correct and competent advice to his patients so they may assume their personal responsibilities in health care natters, including hygiene and the promotion of preventive measures of proven value. He will inform them of the risks for health inherent in certain habits. 3.‐ The promotion of preventive activities is deontologically correct when they are of proven scientific value.”

7. We undertake to foster joint and coordinated activities among professional associations and pro-life entities so that the recommendations and resolutions of international bodies are in closer harmony with the right to life. In particular, we undertake to continue working for the international recognition of the status of the human embryo.

8. We will continue informing health care professionals that their right to conscientious objection is recognized and that they can count on legal instruments to defend the exercise of said right.

9. Under current circumstances it is especially necessary to affirm the dignity of the infirm and the elderly who are in the final stage of their life, recognizing and guaranteeing their right to quality palliative treatment through appropriate legal means, as well as assistance on the part of trained professionals.

10. Looking ahead to the future socio-health care policy in preparation for Spain we reiterate the need to encourage policies for the support of maternity and pregnant women at risk, to guarantee the legal protection of the life of each “nasciturus” as indicated by the Constitutional Curt, and in this sense to strive to abolish any law or legal disposition that would consecrate abortion as a right or a therapeutic solution.