European Court does not rule on midwives’ participation in abortion

The case of Grimmark and Steen, who do not want to participate in abortions, have attracted much attention internationally. The right to freedom of conscience is enshrined in international conventions but is not applied to the midwives in Sweden.

The two midwives requested freedom of conscience in 2014. Since then, the cases have travelled through the Swedish courts and were appealed to the European Court of Human Rights. In May 2020, the midwives applied for redress in the ECHR, which had previously decided not to take up their complaint. The European Court has now announced that it denies a trial since there were no new perspectives.

Even though it was expected, we sincerely regret this decision, says lawyer Ruth Nordström from the Scandinavian human rights lawyers (SHRL), who has pursued the case via a press release.

“Mrs Justitia no longer blind”

Ellinor Grimmark has moved to Norway to work as a maternity care midwife. There, her colleagues shake their heads and ask themselves why Sweden cannot satisfy freedom of conscience when it works excellently in our neighbouring countries and over 40 countries in Europe, Ruth Nordström says.

Linda Steen worked as a midwife with freedom of conscience in Norway for a few years but has now taken another job in Sweden when it became too complicated to commute.

Mrs Justitia is no longer blind, which is very sad, concludes Världen idag in its leading article.

“Some EU countries in the East are sharply criticised for the political control of the judiciary; Sweden and Western Europe, on the other hand, do not seem to have any problems at all. It is healthy to criticise the political influence on the exercise of justice. Still, just as in a factual trial, all sides should then be treated equally. Unfortunately, there is reason to criticise Sweden and Western Europe, like how we judge countries in the East.”