The aim of this paper is to examine European legislation and case law regarding end-of-life decisions from the perspective of whether refusals of treatment on religious grounds are more frequently permitted than those based on other objections, and whether this practice is discriminatory. In addition, the study wishes to examine the inverse of this issue: the conscientious objection of physicians. In doing so, I examine whether physicians and healthcare workers who refuse to assist in an end-of-life decisions on religious grounds are subject to discrimination if they suffer a disadvantage as a result.
The study examines the practices of France, the Benelux countries, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, and the European Court of Human Rights. The aim of the study is to determine whether the permission of refusal of treatment for religious reasons is discriminatory preferential treatment, and whether healthcare workers will be discriminated against if they refuse to provide such care for religious reasons.