Reaffirming As Murder, Pope Francis Says Health Workers Have The Right To Refuse Abortion

JAKARTA - Health workers have a non-negotiable right to object to conscience by refusing to participate in abortions, World Catholic Church leader Pope Francis said on Thursday, calling the procedure "murder".

This is at least the third time in a month the Pope has spoken out strongly against abortion, which has become a major political issue in a number of countries, including the United States.

Last week a US appeals court temporarily reinstated Texas's restrictive abortion law, which bans the procedure before six weeks after pregnancy and outsources enforcement of the ban to ordinary citizens.

"Today it has become a bit of a fad to think, maybe it would be good to get rid of the objections of conscience (in the medical field)," Pope Francis told a conference in Rome of hospital pharmacists, citing Reuters Oct. 14.

"It (conscience objections) should not be negotiated, it is the primary responsibility of health professionals," he stressed, adding it especially applies to abortion.

"Know that in this matter I am very clear, this is murder and it is never legal to be an accomplice," he said.

Most countries have laws regulating some form of conscientious objection by health professionals, but abortion rights activists say not all fulfill their obligation to refer a woman to another doctor.

In some Scandinavian countries, doctors are prohibited from refusing to provide any legal medical treatment.

Last month, Pope Francis told reporters on a plane returning from Slovakia that abortion is 'murder', even immediately after conception, but appeared to criticize some of the United States' Catholic bishops for dealing with US President Joe Biden's pro-choice position in a political way rather than pastoral.

To note, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that life begins at conception.

In June, a divided conference of United States Roman Catholic bishops voted to draft a statement on the fellowship that could rebuke Catholic politicians, including President Joe Biden. They will discuss the matter again next month.