The Opinion Group of the Bioethics and Law Observatory (OBD) of the University of Barcelona has publicly presented a document that aims to reconcile two interests that could, in theory, clash with one another: the possibility that health professionals exercise conscientious objection and the rights of citizens to receive certain legally-established health services, for example, voluntary termination of pregnancy or prescription of the morning-after pill. The document was officially presented within the Barcelona Science Park, where the OBD has its office, during the I International Conference on the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, which was organised by the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics of the University of Barcelona, a position currently held by Maria Casado, Director of the OBD.

The proposal is an innovative one in that this issue is not governed by any specific regulation at national level, and thus the aim is to encourage health institutions to arbitrate and adopt those measures required to avoid a lack of healthcare provision in certain areas and the repercussions this may have: for example, the fact that many women either have to travel to other autonomous regions of Spain in order to have a voluntary termination of pregnancy, or themselves bear the cost of going private.

In order to ensure that freedom of conscience can be exercised in this field with the maximum degree of transparency, the OBD proposes the drawing up of a formal declaration that explicitly sets out the specific practices that may be affected by conscientious objection, thus enabling healthcare managers to organise their services in a way that adequately meets the needs of users. Furthermore, the OBD considers that any regulations covering conscientious objection should also be applicable to pharmacy staff, as in Spain pharmacies are not merely commercial outlets but also healthcare services subject to the corresponding planning.

The coordinators of this document — which has been drawn up in collaboration with specialists from various disciplines — are Maria Casado, the current incumbent of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics of the University of Barcelona, and Mirentxu Corcoy, Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Barcelona.

The presentation of the document as part of the I International Conference on the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights is in keeping with the objectives of the new UNESCO Chair of Bioethics of the University of Barcelona, whose missions include contributing, in the context of worldwide reflection on human rights, to a global, plural and pluridisciplinary debate on the principles and fields of study of key importance to bioethics.