Midwife Ellinor Grimmark objects to abortions because of her Christian beliefs. But the Swedish Labor Court decided that midwives are obligated to make a choice between conscience and career -- contradicting international law, which protects conscientious objection, experts say.

According to the organization Scandinavian Human Rights Lawyers, "freedom of conscience" is a human right stating that no one shall be deprived of their ability to work in their profession because that person -- by ethical, moral or religious reasons -- cannot perform a task that "extinguishes human life" at its beginning, or final stages.

"Restrictions on the right to freedom of conscience must be supported by law and be necessary in a democratic society," Scandinavian Human Rights Lawyers said after the appeals court decision in Grimmark's case.

In November 2015, a district court found that Grimmark's right to freedom of conscience had not been violated, and required her to pay the local government's legal costs, which totaled more than $100,000.