Two Swedish midwives who were refused employment due to their position on abortion have had their applications declare inadmissible by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) .
Both applicants, Ellinor Grimmark and Linda Steen, were unable to practice their profession due to their beliefs against abortion. Their requests not to perform abortions were rejected by employers, and upheld by Swedish authorities which do not recognise the right of conscientious objection to abortion. The midwives argued that this was in breach of their right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion as contained in Article 9, their right to freedom of expression as contained in Article 10, and their right to freedom from discrimination as contained in Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The ECtHR, comprised of a small committee of three judges, agreed with the Swedish Authorities that the obligation to perform abortion serves “the legitimate aim of protecting the health of women seeking an abortion”. In balancing this aim with the right to religious freedom of the applicants, the Court observed that Sweden provides nationwide abortion services and therefore has a positive obligation to organise its healthcare system in a way as to ensure that the effective exercise of freedom of conscience of health professionals in the professional context does not prevent the provision of such services. The requirement that all midwives should be able to perform all duties inherent to the vacant posts was not disproportionate or unjustified.
The Court found the complaints manifestly ill-founded and therefore inadmissible.