The Doctor’s Choice?
Jan 22nd, 2009 | 3 responses
One of the last spasms from an outgoing Bush Administration was a ruling that allows doctors and other medical professions to opt out of certain medical treatments if they violate a personal sense of right and wrong. It was aimed, of course, at medicos who oppose a woman’s right to choose an abortion. But it got me wondering if this ruling might have larger implications.
Suppose, for example, that a patient comes in with a venereal infection. If the patient is married, the infection probably came from out of marriage sex. Adultery! So does a medical profession who opposes adultery have a right not to treat that patient?
There are religions that think it is sinful to travel on certain days of the week or days of the year. If someone gets into a traffic accident on such days they are by definition sinners. Should medical professionals who feel strongly about this sinful behavior be forced to treat the sinner?
Druggists, of course, were another primary target of the Bush ruling. Specifically, those who might oppose morning after contraception pills. But again, think of all those maladies currently treatable with drugs you can legally buy at a pharmacy that might offend a druggist’s own moral sensibilities.
And hey, druggists aren’t the only moral people working in drug stores. How about the sensibilities of the clerk at the checkout counter. Why should he or she be forced to accept a customer’s money if it is being used for some means of contraception?
Why, indeed.
Morality is a tricky thing when applied to people doing what they are ostensibly being paid to do. Or to put this another way: if you ain’t up to doing the job, earn your living doing something else.
mike@wallstreetpoet.com
3 Responses to “The Doctor’s Choice?”
Look It's about abortion. That's it. Try as hard as you want to draw it out and make it about the bigger picture, but it all comes back to abortion. Otherwise no one would care. One doctor doesn't like you or want to treat your disease, no problem you just go to the next. Unless it's abortion related and then you call a lawyer/political org and the press. Let us please make the conversation about what the issue is. Personal I think it's bs. I used to do escorts at Planned Parenthood. I think what some women go thru is barbaric and disgusting. On the other hand the idea that health care providers now have their choice protected and it's supposed to be a bad thing? Lets take away choice to protect it? Anyone one else see the irony in that?
Actually it's also about birth control. There are people who want to work at pharmacies but not be “forced” to distribute contraceptives of any kind. They also want to be able to withhold information from patients, not simply to not provide services. And then there's the question of the wish to not provide information on the morning after pill to rape victims. That one really irritates me.
Then go somewhere else. A doctor who withholds info or a pharmacist or pharmacist assistant who misleads could loose their licence. Nothing protects them. A pharmacy, drug store, owned by an individual can decide what to sell. If they don't want condoms on their shelves then so be it. I'm sure there is a place with only one pharmacy available, but I don't know of one. What seems to happen is someplace with a multitude of options people get pissed because one doesn't want to provide what they want. If there was truly no other way to get some service or product then most health care providers would tend to try and provide it even when they were against it. What people have bitched about is when people have a multitude of options but are offended because someone disagrees with their choices. Thats the real crime in most peoples minds that someone should display a negative reaction to others choices. Like the BS about clerks. Guess what if the store wants to sell a product then they will sell it or be fired. Nothing would prevent that and no one has suggested otherwise. It's the businesses choice. Maybe we should mandate every doctor must preform a certain amount of abortions a year. How dare a Doctor go into dermatology instead of reproductive care. Sure it's absurd but then so are the other examples the other direction.