On March 19, 2026, Dr. Marcin Olszówka of the SGMK College of Legal Sciences delivered a presentation at the nationwide academic conference “Conscientious Objection in Healthcare: 10 Years Since the Constitutional Tribunal’s Ruling on the Medical Conscience Clause,” held in Lublin. The event was organized by the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, the Medical University of Lublin, and the “Civitas Christiana” Association.

The point of reference for the discussion was the ruling of the full bench of the Constitutional Tribunal dated October 7, 2015 (case no. K 12/14), which declared unconstitutional certain provisions limiting doctors’ ability to invoke conscientious objection. In its reasoning, the Tribunal noted that the right to conscientious objection constitutes an element of freedom of conscience, and that the statutory conscience clause sets the framework for exercising this right.

The conference was interdisciplinary in nature. Participants—representing the fields of law, medicine, as well as clinical practice and healthcare management—discussed both the theoretical foundations of conscientious objection and the practical challenges of its application in the medical professions, including issues related to the implementation of the Constitutional Tribunal’s 2015 ruling.