Summary

The Working Group on discrimination against women and girls is deeply concerned about reports of individual and institutional denial of access to critical reproductive health-care services, particularly abortion care, due to conscientious objection. It has prepared the present document on key considerations for conscientious objection to abortion pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 15/23 and 50/18. This guidance document provides an overview of conscientious objection in the context of sexual and reproductive health rights, with a specific focus on abortion. It outlines the Working Group’s concerns regarding the unchecked exercise of conscientious objection globally. It then makes recommendations for legal and policy reform aimed at enabling States that permit conscientious objection to regulate effectively the exercise thereof and at eliminating barriers to the realization of women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health rights. Ultimately, this guidance document is aimed at assessing conscientious objection within the framework of gender equality and at promoting a human rights-based approach that prioritizes the rights of women and girls.