Conscienctious objections and abortion (Vatican).

Vatican--July 7, 2000, Pope John Paul II addressed 6,000 Catholic doctors gathered in St. Peter's Square for their special Jubilee celebration. Greeting the doctors as people who fulfilled "a noble service to life," he urged them to offer "the warmth of authentic human contact" to their patients. He also called on them to make a greater commitment to the primary healthcare needs of people in the Third World, who are so often lacking in the basics.

Turning to the questions of abortion and euthanasia, the Pope reminded his audience that Catholic healthcare workers must never either directly perform such procedures themselves or in any way become an accomplice to them. He recommended that doctors and other workers should "take recourse to conscientious objection". With the recent great progress in palliative pain therapy, he said, euthanasia of terminal patients should not be necessary (Zenit).

The Pope's strong statement provided a reply to the European branch of International Planned Parenthood Federation's June 23 call to the Vatican to "change its views on sexual and reproductive health" issues. IPPF had accused the pope of "waging a psychological war against women."