A Defense of Institutional Conscience Rights for Secular Hospitals: Philosophical Justifications and Practical Applications.

We have previously argued that clinicians should leverage conscience, rather than quasi-objective clinical standards, to justify their refusal to provide aggressive interventions to patients who were likely permanently unconscious. Such a move sidesteps perennial disagreements over concepts such as...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:American Journal of Bioethics Vol. 26; no. 7; pp. 45 - 59
Autores principales: Wasserman, Jason Adam, Brummett, Abram, Navin, Mark Christopher
Formato: questions and answers Journal Article
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Jul2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=194782885&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ccm
    uiTerm: 194782885
    longDbName: CINAHL Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    dissinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        15265161
        FKZ
      jtl: American Journal of Bioethics
      issn: 15265161
      maglogo: N
    pubinfo:
      dt: Jul2026
      vid: 26
      iid: 7
      pid: 377
      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
      place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    artinfo:
      ui:
        194782885
        189273958
        194782885
        194782885
        10.1080/15265161.2025.2570673
        194782885
      ppf: 45
      ppct: 14
      formats:
        fmt:
          – @attributes:
              type: T
          – @attributes:
              type: P
      tig:
        atl: A Defense of Institutional Conscience Rights for Secular Hospitals: Philosophical Justifications and Practical Applications.
      aug:
        au:
          Wasserman, Jason Adam
          Brummett, Abram
          Navin, Mark Christopher
        affil: Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
      sug:
        subj:
          Conscience
          Hospitals
          Ethics, Organizational
          Philosophy, Medical
          Ethics, Medical
          Brain Death
          Persistent Vegetative State
          Medical Futility
          Ethics Committees
          Patient Rights
          Life Support Care
          Treatment Withdrawal
          Refusal to Treat
      ab: We have previously argued that clinicians should leverage conscience, rather than quasi-objective clinical standards, to justify their refusal to provide aggressive interventions to patients who were likely permanently unconscious. Such a move sidesteps perennial disagreements over concepts such as "futility," "harm," and "best interest"; and it is consistent with the growing acknowledgement of value pluralism in healthcare. In this paper, we make similar arguments about the conscience rights of institutions. We argue that, like individuals, healthcare organizations can leverage conscience claims to justify institution-wide prohibitions on some medical interventions that are legal and within the standard of care. Of course, faith-based healthcare institutions already enjoy institutional conscience protections. We argue that secular institutions can also claim conscience protections to refuse some kinds of interventions on the basis of system-level moral commitments.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        questions and answers
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
    refInfo:
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N