Ordo Iuris warns Polish hospitals: freedom of conscience is a Constitutional right
Poland’s leading legal and pro-life institute, Ordo Iuris, issued a clear rebuke this week to hospitals and health authorities, reminding them that freedom of conscience is guaranteed to every medical professional — including those who lawfully refuse to participate in abortions.
Surge in reported violations
Ordo Iuris reports an alarming rise in complaints from medical personnel whose right to conscientious objection is being challenged or overridden. Many of these cases relate to hospital administrators pressuring doctors, nurses, or midwives to participate in abortion procedures, despite their moral objections.
In response, the Institute has sent formal letters to obstetric and gynecological hospital departments, detailing the legal basis for conscience clauses and warning against unlawful coercion.
Legal foundation & Constitutional protections
Ordo Iuris emphasizes that even when statutory law is silent or ambiguous, Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal has affirmed that freedom of conscience must be honored.
They point out that recent guidelines from the former Minister of Health (Izabela Leszczyna) — which reinterpreted abortion regulations and imposed administrative pressure — do not carry the force of law. Hospitals using those guidelines as justification for denying conscience rights are in breach of higher constitutional guarantees.
Additionally, Ordo Iuris reminds authorities that conscientious objection is not limited to physicians. Nurses, midwives, and other hospital staff who would be compelled into acts contrary to their beliefs also retain this right.
They cite a decision by the Constitutional Tribunal from October 7, 2015, which explicitly affirms that refusal to act contrary to one’s conscience includes both direct and indirect participation in procedures one deems morally unacceptable.
Abuses Under the Guise of “Mental Health” Exceptions
One of Ordo Iuris’s sharper criticisms targets how certain hospitals have justified otherwise illegal abortions by citing mental health grounds, even in late-term cases, and using vague “certificates” to circumvent legal restrictions. They argue that such practices effectively erode both the legal protections of the unborn and the conscience rights of staff.
Ordo Iuris interprets these trends as not isolated errors but systematic pressure to normalize abortion — regardless of legal constraints or individual conscience.
Legal aid & watchdog role
In their letter to hospitals, the Institute also offers free legal assistance to medical professionals whose conscience rights are threatened.
Ordo Iuris positions itself as a watchdog over hospitals’ compliance with constitutional law, ready to escalate to courts or public accountability if institutions persist in violating conscience protections.
Why this matters
- The conflict underscores a broader struggle: whether moral convictions — especially on life and conscience — will retain any space in public institutions, or be overridden by administrative or ideological pressure.
- If hospitals can coerce doctors or nurses into acts against their beliefs, it sets a dangerous precedent: one’s profession dictates one’s conscience.
- Poland, as a nation with strong Christian roots and a legal tradition of protecting life, now faces a crossroads. Will the state defend conscience rights — or allow incremental erosion under bureaucratic pressure?
