NPR's "Talk of the Nation" on Wednesday examined the nationwide debate over the rights of health care providers to refuse to perform certain medical procedures and prescribe certain medications because of personal beliefs and the rights of patients to medical care. According to Washington Post reporter Rob Stein, "[T]here is a long history" of the right of conscience in medicine, and it became a "prominent issue" in the U.S. after Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that effectively outlawed state abortion bans. "[I]n the wake of that [decision], most every state passed what they called a 'conscience' law, which specifically permitted doctors and nurses who did not want to participate in abortion from stepping away and not being forced to do so," Stein said. According to Nancy Berlinger, deputy director and associate for religious studies at the Hastings Center, "[A] professional in medicine ... always works in a system that is organized around the health and well-being of the patient," and "duty to care is always about placing the patient's needs above one's own needs." Robert Scheidt, chair of the ethics commission of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, said, "[T]here should be lines and there should be reasonable lines," adding, "[T]he doctor ... has the right of refusal on the basis of conscience. But he has an obligation to be sure that he's practicing factually accurate and rational medicine ... that his conscience is well informed" ("Talk of the Nation," NPR, 7/19).

The complete segment is available online in Windows Media Player.