Grimmark worked in the Jönköping region and Steen in the Sörmland region. In the many years of legal battle between the midwives and the Swedish county councils (now regions), the international court is on the line of the Swedish judiciary. The women were rejected by Swedish bodies.
Both midwives went to the European Court of Human Rights and demanded damages for being denied freedom of conscience. On Thursday, the court announced that the case will not be taken up.
In a brief justification, the Court writes that while the Convention on Human Rights does give them the right to freedom of conscience, it is not, however, a human right to get jobs in care and care.
In 2014, Grimmark was first noticed when she was denied work at the maternity clinics in the region because she refused to perform abortions because they violated her religious beliefs.