ABSTRACT
A common assumption undergirds much of the literature of the past few years, despite the appearances of quite substantial disagreement. Some exemptions are, on the other hand, made on religious grounds. Those who make them view certain professional obligations as incompatible with their religious obligations. In a liberal democracy, no one forces anyone to become a physician, a nurse or anything else, and so it can rightly be assumed that people who have chosen those professions, and the norms that accompany them, have done so freely. The foregoing considerations smack of amoral realpolitik. “Rather than having a powerful group make use of its political and social capital in order to block desired legislation altogether”, the argument seems to be saying, “let’s give in to their blackmail and provide them with a morally unjustified benefit so that they will not get in the way of desired legislation”.
