ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses contradictions in the handling of claims of conscientious objection to abortion in Sweden and Italy, arguing that both phenomena may be examples of an uncovering of "hidden rules of behavior" underlying the fabric of these two democracies, and in direct contradiction with their public declarations and conceptions. Pluralism and globalization are but two more features of modern life that raises before us, one day used as inspiration, the next as a means of fomenting conflict. The Ombudsman ruled that Ellinor Grimmark was not being discriminated against for her pro-life views and that the decision against her could be "regarded as a health protection" of patients requiring abortion in Sweden. As far as Grimmark's legal case is concerned, Swedish legal expert Reinhold Fahlbeck has written that Sweden's legal treatment of conscientious objection is bound by the European Convention of 1950 on the protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, signed by Sweden in 1993.
