Professionalismo medico e obiezione di coscienza nell’IVG. Alcune ipotesi di ricerca

While legalizing voluntary interruption of pregnancy (VIP) in Italy, law n.194/1978 introduced the clause of conscientious objection and, since then, many gynaecologists have invoked this right. While the literature on this issue is extensive, there is a lack of contributions that, adopting the perspective of the sociology of the professions, focus on the consequences of this choice on professional group. After all, the debate on medical professionalism is overly crystallizing on some aspects by neglecting some others which still appear crucial. Some hypotheses were then formulated: the first is that conscientious objection represents a rift within the gynaecology; the second is that pro-choice gynaecologists experience marginality; finally, the third is that they better identify themselves in a constructed community, including professionals who share the same values rather than the same knowledge, undermining the unity of the professional group.