Stockholm, Sweden, Jan 28, 2017 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A Swedish midwife who objects to abortion because of her Christian beliefs is appealing to a labor tribunal after being turned down for jobs at three local clinics.
The woman, Ellinor Grimmark, is suing the Joenkoeping regional health authority on grounds of discrimination.
Grimmark had her discrimination claim rejected by a district court in 2015, and was ordered to pay for legal costs of the authorities. Sweden's discrimination ombudsman also ruled against her.
She has since appealed to a labor tribunal, and secured the backing of the U.S.-based Alliance Defending Freedom group as part of her legal team, along with Scandinavian Human Rights Lawyers.
The Scandinavian Human Rights Lawyers argued in a briefing on the case that Grimmark is being discriminated against on grounds of human rights, since the European Convention on Human Rights, which has been Swedish law since 1995, grants the right to freedom of conscience.
They also point out that the Council of Europe “stipulates that medical personnel are entitled to freedom of conscience in matters relating to termination of human life. Resolutions are not binding upon member states but give guidance to the European Court when it is examining a case.”
A 201 Council of Europe resolution also defends "the right to conscientious objection in lawful medical care".
"No person, hospital or institution shall be coerced, held liable or discriminated against in any manner because of a refusal to perform, accommodate, assist or submit to an abortion," it says.
Furthermore, abortion comprises "a very limited part of the work" of a midwife, and other midwives could perform abortions in the cases when Grimmark cannot, the lawyers said.
The Alliance Defending Freedom argued in its brief on the case that, based on the European Court of Human Rights’ guaranteed freedoms of thought, conscience and religion, “where necessity and proportionality are lacking, a State must seek to accommodate religious and moral beliefs no matter how irksome it finds them.”
“This notion stems from the reluctance of European civilization – born of decency, forbearance, and tolerance – to compel our fellow citizens to humiliate themselves by betraying their own consciences.”
ADF's chief European lobbyist, Robert Clarke, said "nobody should be forced to choose between following their conscience and pursuing their profession,” according to the BBC.
Grimmark’s lawyers also argue in favor of allowing her to practice because of the lack of midwives in Sweden.
However, Mia Ahlberg, president of the Swedish Association of Midwives, told the BBC that Swedish policy on abortion stipulates that "always the need of the patient comes first."
Despite the lack of midwives in Sweden, Ahlberg stressed to the BBC that women's rights and the integrity of midwifery were paramount in the case. She argued that Grimmark should be in a different profession if she opposes abortion, since the procedure comprises part of the training of a midwife.
The appeal is underway, and a ruling is expected in the next several weeks.
Article Archive
This Swedish midwife says she was denied work for being pro-life
Related Articles • More Articles
"The Chosen" actor Jonathan Roumie gives the commencement speech at the Catholic University of America on Saturday, May 11, 2024. / Credit: Denny Henry/The Catholic University of AmericaWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 11, 2024 / 15:18 pm (CNA).Actor Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus Christ in the popular television series "The Chosen," encouraged graduates at the Catholic University of America (CUA) to emulate Christ and strengthen their prayer lives during the university's commencement ceremony Saturday morning."Last time I spoke [to] a crowd this big, there were loaves and fish and baskets of them," Roumie joked, referencing the Sermon on the Mount. "So many leftovers."Roumie headlined the commencement ceremony for CUA graduates held on the lawn of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., which sits adjacent to the university.The actor was also awarded an honorary doctorate in fine arts for his work evangelizing through his...
null / Credit: terazitu/ShutterstockSt. Paul, Minn., May 11, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Jerry Laughlin, 46, who took over a fifth-generation farm near Imogene, Iowa, in 1999 and hopes to move more into farming crops for food rather than industrial use, is grateful for his Catholic faith amid the challenges of farm life. Seeing farming as a sacred profession is exactly what an "epic apostolate" founded 100 years ago aims to foster. Laughlin is considering, with his pastor, Father Lazarus Kirigia, starting a chapter of Catholic Rural Life at his parish.Built on Archbishop Edwin O'Hara's vision and philosophy of Catholic rural life, it continues his legacy of helping the rural Church promote U.S. farming and how it can foster virtuous living, while it also grapples with problems the archbishop identified a century ago, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan said at a May 8 anniversary event titled "Rejoicing in the Harvest: Celebrating 100 Years of Catholic Rural Life" at the University of St...
Archbishop J. Michael Miller celebrates Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Delta before the March for Life in Victoria, British Columbia, on May 9, 2024. He prayed that they "may be worthy and effective messengers of hope." / Credit: Paul SchratzVictoria, Canada, May 11, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).At a pro-life Mass before the March for Life in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller prayed that those heading to the British Columbia Legislature "may be worthy and effective messengers of hope to a world where self-centeredness, greed, violence, and cynicism so often seem to choke the fragile growth of grace in people's hearts."The acceptance of abortion in particular in the law and the popular mind is "a telling sign of an extremely dangerous crisis of the moral sense, which is becoming more and more incapable of distinguishing between good and evil," the archbishop said.He told the pro-life worshippers that they are "praying in a special way that rever...