BIRTH

The Crossroads Between Law and Ethics: Conscience Clauses

Is it a good and noble thing to stand up for your beliefs and refuse to do activities that you fully and honestly think are wrong, evil, or even sinful? What if your refusal to do something negatively affects somebody else who does not share your values--is it still okay to follow your conscience? Or, as a licensed pharmacist who swears to uphold our code of ethics, do you have to look first to the welfare of your patients even if doing so results in having to do something you understand to be morally wrong? Another way of looking at these dilemmas is to ask where the boundaries of law and ethics intersect and ask which of these forms of behavioral conduct takes precedence.