Fiona Bruce: Conscience exists to protect patients, as well as the professionals caring for them.
"How strange would it be if patients simply expected their doctor to ignore their deepest moral reservations and proceed regardless? Would it not concern patients to learn that the healthcare professionals caring for them were forced to participate in activity which they fundamentally disagreed with? All too often, the ability of healthcare professionals to conscientiously object is entirely dependent on the sympathy of their line managers or colleagues."