Libertad de conciencia contra legem: criterios del Tribunal Constitucional en materia de transfusiones

Abstract

This essay is divided in two blocks. The first one is dedicated to freedom of conscience in the broad sense of the term. We begin analyzing the concept «freedom of conscience» from a theoretical point of view. Then, we study the causes of the social irruption of this institution in the Sixties and how the Law can bear into the different process related with the conscience: his process of formation and his externalization. We also emphasized in the several planes included in the freedom of conscience and underlined the differences between that concept and other similar ones. We end this part taking a close approach to the debate related with his legal consideration that has been developed both within the doctrine and the constitutional jurisprudence. The second part is referred to the cases of rejection of medical care based on religious reasons. After a brief incursion in foreign jurisprudence, we analyze the Constitutional Court doctrine and we end underlying two of the most clarifying criteria in order to resolve not only this kind of confrontation but also any other type of conflict between fundamental rights: the principle of practical concordance and the personal nature of fundamental rights.