Objection or Obstacle

Applying Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach to the Conscientious Refusal of Emergency Contraception

Bibliographic Data

ID17814294
AuthorsClaire M Moore (0000-0001-7032-1545, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume15
Issue2
Pages40-50
Publication date2022-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1937-4577 • E-ISSN: 1937-4585
PublisherUniversity of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3138/ijfab.15.2.03
PMID38031553
OpenAlexW4294300334
LanguageEN
References cited14

The conscientious refusal to dispense emergency contraception (EC) is legally protected in fourteen states. While the ethical dimensions of these objections have been explored within moral and feminist philosophy, conscientious refusal to the over-the-counter sale of EC has not been significantly studied through an egalitarian lens, especially with attention to the existing reproductive healthcare landscape in which these refusals occur. This article argues, through Amartya Sen's capability approach, that conscientious refusal to EC creates a burdensome inequality for people wishing to prevent pregnancy that manifests within a background of historical injustices, elevating its importance in our weighing of capabilities

Conscientious objector · Emergency contraception · Environmental ethics · Environmental health · Family planning · Inequality · Obstacle · Political science · Population · Research methodology · Sociology · Global Maternal and Child Health · Law · Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions · Medicine · Philosophy · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Contraception