One contested moral commitment shared by the American Medical Association (AMA) and American Nurses Association (ANA) has to do with the place of conscience in the practice of medicine. These organizations, each in their own way, urge their respective members to engage in careful moral discernment regarding their professional life, and they assert the existence of an obligation on the part of others to respect the conscientious objections of healthcare professionals and to accommodate objecting individuals. Yet despite the value that these organizations place on conscience and objector rights, these organizations do not offer elaborate philosophical defenses of their positions. This shortcoming is exposed by the light of contemporary philosophical challenges to conscience-friendly policies. What such challenges demand is a philosophical defense of these organizations’ moral commitments and corresponding policy recommendations. The point of this article is to indicate how the Catholic philosophical tradition’s account of the nature and importance of conscience can philosophically underwrite these organizations’ conscience-related principles and practices. It can be seen, then, that the Catholic tradition is far from inimical to the contemporary practice of medicine and that, on the contrary, this tradition offers philosophically serious grounds on which to rest (and from which to defend) some of the most morally significant values and guidelines endorsed by these contemporary health-professional organizations and their members.

中文翻译：

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天主教道德传统、良心和医学实践

美国医学协会 (AMA) 和美国护士协会 (ANA) 共有的一项有争议的道德承诺与良心在医学实践中的地位有关。这些组织都以自己的方式敦促其各自的成员对其职业生涯进行仔细的道德辨别，并声称其他人有义务尊重医疗保健专业人员的良心反对并容纳反对的个人. 然而，尽管这些组织重视良心和反对者的权利，但这些组织并没有为他们的立场提供详尽的哲学辩护。当代哲学对良心友好政策的挑战暴露了这一缺点。这些挑战需要的是对这些组织的道德承诺和相应的政策建议进行哲学辩护。本文的重点是表明天主教哲学传统对良心的本质和重要性的描述如何在哲学上支持这些组织与良心相关的原则和实践。因此，可以看出，天主教传统与当代医学实践远非敌对，相反，这一传统提供了哲学上严肃的基础，可以在此基础上休息（并捍卫）一些最道德的这些当代卫生专业组织及其成员认可的重要价值观和指导方针。本文的重点是表明天主教哲学传统对良心的本质和重要性的描述如何在哲学上支持这些组织与良心相关的原则和实践。因此，可以看出，天主教传统与当代医学实践远非敌对，相反，这一传统提供了哲学上严肃的基础，可以在此基础上休息（并捍卫）一些最道德的这些当代卫生专业组织及其成员认可的重要价值观和指导方针。本文的重点是表明天主教哲学传统对良心的本质和重要性的描述如何在哲学上支持这些组织与良心相关的原则和实践。因此，可以看出，天主教传统与当代医学实践远非敌对，相反，这一传统提供了哲学上严肃的基础，可以在此基础上休息（并捍卫）一些最道德的这些当代卫生专业组织及其成员认可的重要价值观和指导方针。