Grimmark And Steen Lost Case Of European Court Of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights had refused to consider the case of two fully trained midwives who had been denied employment in Sweden over their refusal to perform abortions. The midwives, Ellinor Grimmark and Linda Steen, claim that this necessity to carry out abortions was violating their freedom of conscience, dictated by their Christian faith. The European Court announced that the two Swedish cases were inadmissible.
The two midwives were denied employment in Sweden.
Regarding Steen’s case, the Court defined "the Article 14 complaint inadmissible as the Court found that the applicant had failed to raise the issue before the domestic courts. The Court therefore considered that the applicant failed to exhaust domestic remedies of Article 35 § 1."
Robert Clarke, Deputy Director of ADF International, says:
“We are very disappointed by the Court’s decision not to take up the cases of Ms Grimmark and Ms Steen. A positive judgment from the Court would have been an important step in the protection of the right to freedom of conscience. Medical professionals should be able to work without being forced to choose between their deeply held convictions and their careers. Although freedom of conscience is protected as a fundamental right in almost every other European country, the decision today marks a missed opportunity to uphold this important protection in Sweden. In its short written decision, the Court agreed that Sweden had interfered with the rights of these midwives. However, in failing to take up the case, the decision marks a dangerous departure from the Court’s purpose in protecting fundamental freedoms.”
Source and Photo: ADF International