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Thursday, September 24, 2009

My Concern:
A Dr. With A Conscience


Every Wednesday it is a weekly occurrence of mine to call Lauren and force her to comb through her mind in an effort to find something that might concern me. Believe me this is not a small feat to accomplish. I oddly care about very little. I believe this stems from me being amused by so much. How can I really be concerned about a subject that I mock profusely? In this lies my greatest dilemma as a writer. Yes, even greater than my inability to use the proper amount of commas in any given post, is my inability to find something "concerning" to write about. Last night Lauren was kind enough to stumble me onto the following.

Americans are outraged by the fact that the Obama Administration plans to overturn the Conscience Clause, which is a "statutory provision that permits individuals or institutions to refuse to provide or to pay for medical procedures on the basis of religious or moral beliefs". This basically means that if your doctor has a moral issue with your chosen type of care he is in no way obligated to adhere to your medical demands. In fact the entire facility, in which he practices medicine, is entitled to opt out of fulfilling your medical needs and/or desires.

While many Americans are outraged I find myself hopeful. A conscience has absolutely no place in a medical field. Americans have enough restrictions regarding health care. The majority of patients already have to consider co pays, deductibles, specialist rates, routine care restrictions, referrals, and in/out of network coverage. Isn't that enough? I find it highly problematic that in addition to all that I have to fret over whether or not my lady doctor is an avid mass attendee. In order to ensure that she is willing to perform the type of procedure that guarantees my month long dating mishap doesn't turn into a tragically epic romance involving carpool lanes and sordid affairs.

Who cares if the doctor doesn't agree with my chosen method of birth control being a bi-yearly tune up that leaves my insides as barren as a "Mollie," which by the way is a female mule. That's my poor decision making at work. It isn't his call. He gave up his right to make moral objections to medical procedures the day he took the Hippocratic Oath, vowing to provide the best care he can and respecting the rights of his patients. Or at least he should have.

Why does he get a moral get out of job free card, when lawyers don't. Lawyers have to hold their conscience at bay and adhere to their clients wishes, provided that their wishes are law abiding. They have to hush their concerns, ignore their "better judgement," and perform their assignments to the best of their abilities. Their job depends on it. Why should Doctors be any different?

I can only hope that the Obama Administration is successful at overturning this as quickly as possible. Until then, when selecting a physician I suppose I will have to follow up my routine credential questions with asking them to divulge their stances on baptism, limbo, the holy trinity, and unclean meats just to ensure I can receive adequate medical care. Ridiculous.
~Melissa

2 comments:

Unknown said...

that guy with the funny hat in the picture is creepy.

Melissa said...

LOL....yea. Thats how a good majority of religious icons appear ...at least at first glance.

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