Slovakia's Ministry of Health has decided against abolishing a "conscience clause" that allows physicians and health care workers to object to performing abortions and other procedures that conflict with their religious beliefs, ministry spokesperson Eva Slovakova said Tuesday, the Agence France-Presse reports. "As far as the objections of conscience, the Ministry of Health will propose to leave the initial version of the law unchanged," Slovakova said in an e-mail. The health ministry previously said it is considering removing the conscience clause, which also applies to fertility treatments and sterilizations.

Slovakia's Roman Catholic officials "welcomed" the announcement but urged further legal action to strengthen the clause, according to the Agence France-Presse. "We would recall the need to adopt a treaty (with the Vatican) on conscientious objection since we see that in reality this issue depends on the wishes of one minister," Jan Kovacik, spokesperson for the Slovak Bishops' Conference, said (Agence France-Presse, 9/18).

Pope Benedict XVI last week urged Slovakia to ratify a treaty that includes an expanded conscience clause that would allow citizens to "refuse to act in [a] way that his or her conscience thinks is contrary" to Catholic tenets. Critics say the clause would allow doctors to object to performing abortions, teachers to refuse to teach the theory of evolution and employees to refuse to work on Sunday (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/17).

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