Sixty-three percent of doctors believe it's ethically permissible to voice moral objections to patients about controversial procedures such as abortion and birth control, according to a recent survey,

The survey, completed by the University of Chicago, also found that some doctors don't feel obligated to tell patients about procedures they object to.

The survey found that 17 percent of doctors object to terminal sedation, 52 percent object to abortion for failed contraception and 42 percent object to prescription of birth control to teenagers without parental consent. The survey also noted that doctors who oppose abortion for failed contraception and birth control prescriptions for teenagers without parent consent may voice their objections to patients.

However, Margaret Spear, director of University Health Services (UHS), said the university provides information about all medical options to patients, including information regarding abortions and adoptions.

"If a student is really struggling with a decision dealing with unplanned pregnancies, we refer them to counseling, but we never impose our beliefs on them," Spear said.

The survey stated 86 percent of surveyed doctors believe physicians are obligated to present all medical options to patients and 71 percent believe doctors should refer patients "to another clinician who does not object to the requested procedure."

Since the fall of 2006, emergency contraception has become an over-the-counter medicine, which the Penn State pharmacy carries. When the morning-after pill required a prescription, doctors were able to prescribe emergency contraception to patients who wanted it, Spear said.

Ryan Kasun, president of Students for Life, said doctors can make recommendations, but patients need to know all of their options about issues such as birth control and abortion.

Adam Sonfield, senior public policy associate for the Guttmacher Institute, said when people start thinking about abortion and birth control in terms of murder, some doctors don't want to be involved with those issues.

"When it comes to information, it's a basic principle of medicine called informed consent," Sonfield said. "The only way a patient can make a rational decision is by going over all of the information. When doctors withhold information, it's an obstacle for informed consent."