Feminists: Do You Know Your Doctor’s Religious Views? Did You Know It Could Affect Your Treatment?
Question by edith clarke: Feminists: Do you know your doctor’s religious views? Did you know it could affect your treatment?
“Many physicians feel no obligation to tell patients about legal but morally controversial medical treatments or to refer patients to doctors who do not object to those treatments,” report researchers from the University of Chicago in the Feb. 8, 2007, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
For example, of the 1,000+ doctors surveyed, 52 percent objected to abortion for failed contraception. So if you or yours requested an abortion, and your doctor objected, the doctor may very well refuse to refer you to another physician who would be willing to perform an abortion.
Do you know your doctor’s religious views? or their views on controversial issues that could affect your health?
Here’s the article that describes the study titled: “Conscience, Religion Alter How Doctors Tell Patients About Options”:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070208072325.htm
This is what I’m concerned about from the article:
“If physicians’ ideas translate into their practices, then 14% of patients — more than 40 million Americans — may be cared for by physicians who *do not* believe they are obligated to *disclose information* about medically available treatments they consider *objectionable*.
In addition, 29% of patients — or nearly 100 million Americans — may be cared for by physicians who *do not* believe they have an obligation to *refer* the patient to *another provider* for such treatments.”
Requested medical treatments are *not* limited to abortion, that was an *example* folks. Many of us, me included, have medical plans that require our physician to refer us to other doctors, if they won’t perform a procedure, or our medical procedures will not be payed for by our health insurance companies. So you’d be forced to find a new physician when you need critical care if your doctor would not refer you to another physician.
My mother is a nurse, too (so what?). This was an anonymous survey, the doctors could say what they *really* do, not what they should do. Obviously many doctors feel they don’t have an obligation to discuss medical treatments they disagree with with their patients nor do they feel they have to refer a patient to a doctor who would perform a medical treatment they disagree with. As a matter of fact, doctors even said they tell their patients why they disagree with the medical treatment the patients request!
Best answer:
Answer by brat_084
And if the doctor rejected her request for an Abortion, she could always go to a woman’s clinic which are generally more helpful in those situations anyway.
Answer by Rio Madeira
Like me, my doctor is Jewish. But being 17, I still go to a pediatrician, and I’ve never had any reason to inquire about medical treatments that have any moral bearing on anyone. If I did, I would be able to drag the truth out of him. We’ve known the family for a long time, and my parents wouldn’t put up with such behaviour.
Drug Awareness Forum: Treatment Options in Cecil County – Jack Foreacker, executive director of Haven House, describes substance abuse treatment options available in Cecil County as part of the Drug Awareness Forum:…
You have to be very smart yourself on your own health care. If you want an abortion, why would you put that on someone else to refer you? Put the responsibility in your own hands, seek out a doctor that will do what you want, YOURSELF! Why would you want to make another person responsible for your choices?
And if your only looking for a referral for the insurance coverage, check out the cost of having this procedure and pay it out of pocket, and leave alone those who have a conscience, and don’t want to be involved in your decision! Take responsibility for your choices, and follow them through yourself!
We as women have a lot more health concerns then men. Medical Services is just that, A SERVICE…Find a good doctor that will do what you want (PROVIDE GOOD SERVICE) and always get your money’s worth.
A good lawyer will straighten any Doctor’s religious values.
Not to mention a phone call to the American Medical Association. These would provide the good doctor with an epiphany!
Doctors that say they mix in their religion with their treatment are lying. When push comes to shove, their religious notions goes flying out the window in the face of losing their Medical Licensure, their career and Large Sums of Cash.
Case in point: Have you heard of a story of a Doctor who is a Jehovah witness, who refuse to give his/her patient blood transfusions? Didn’t think so….Abortion is no different either, if your doctor doesn’t do it, he/she must refer you to someone else. There is no coersion or restriction of access. Doctors that do that stuff, won’t be MDs for long.
A doctor is OBLIGATED to discuss ALL the options in a particular situation INCLUDING when dealing with ABORTION—-whether his religious beliefs are against it or NOT…. his duty is to his PATIENTS not to his religion while he is a practicing doctor… ….I am sure some doctors try to persuade patients based on their religious beliefs, but if the patient TRULY wants an abortion, that doctor is NOT OBLIGATED TO PERFORM IT but he/she IS obligated to REFER the patient to another doctor…… he could lose his MEDICAL LICENSE if he goes against his hypocratic oath or even the standards set forth by the American Medical Association… a patient ALWAYS has that right to go for a second opinion as well……. If I went to a doctor for contraception and there was NO MEDICAL REASON why I couldn’t use it, and if he would NOT give me the contraception or not REFER me to a doctor who WOULD, then he is NOT performing his duties as set forth in the oath they take as doctors and he WOULD get into some trouble over this….
Yes, I employ an excellent Nurse Practitioner from New Zealand.
She is a Libertarian Atheist and we get along just fine.
She even (GASP!) employs lesbians and gays in her office.
It is great going to someone I can trust , but sometimes it takes years to find the correct practitioner.
Great question.
What is your point ?
Is there any other “morally controversial” issue other than abortion ?
Are you asking if women know they could get an abortion ? Or do they need to get a referral ? It seems as if by your question you think others need you to do their thinking for them. Abortion does not need promotion.
Why do you think that your poor choices should force someone else to help you make further poor choices ?
If you don’t want to have a baby then don’t get pregnant.
If it isn’t a life, why kill it ?
Also, how do the costs incurred by abortions and their complications to insurance affect others who participate in the same insurance company ? Is that fair to the rest of us ? Your poor choices mean responsible people should pay higher premiums ?
Yes I did. And the research tells us that female physicians are far less likely to be swayed by their private belief system – religious or otherwise – than are male doctors. Now, if I could only find that article again…
If you type the words “Barriers Treatment Access Literature Review” into any search engine you will come up with tons of hits. You will see the many ways in which marginalised groups are discriminated against in terms of access to:
– substance abuse treatment
– mental health
– physical health
– reproductive health
Identifiable groups discriminated against include
– race (for example, aboriginal peoples)= racism
– the elderly = ageism
– sexual orientation = homophobia
– women (in clinical trials, for example) = sexism
There are more sub-categories. Try it yourself.
One way in which women are discriminated against in terms of reproductive health involves tubal ligations: the research findings tell us that female doctors are FAR more likely to approve/perform this surgery than are male doctors. Women are left running from doctor to doctor – not realising that the playing field isn’t even in the first place and that looking to a male doctor for help is a waste of time. Then, whammo – pregnant again!
I don’t believe a Doctor should be marred for his religious beliefs, but it would be helpful before establishing a relationship with your doctor, if he/she were upfront about procedures they won’t do.
yes, I will only see a doctor who isn’t overly religious and is liberal
A doctor is and shall always be allowed to opt out of ethically questionable procedures. One does not have to be religious to question the morality of abortion.
I would actually question the morality of American doctors, a significant percentage anyway. They recommend the genital mutilation of children irrespective of the fact that both the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics both recommend against the procedure. In fact, every national medical organisation recommends AGAINST the procedure.
British Medical Association
“The BMA does not believe that parental preference alone constitutes sufficient grounds for performing a surgical procedure on a child unable to express his own view. . . . Parental preference must be weighed in terms of the child’s interests. . . . The BMA considers that the evidence concerning health benefit from non-therapeutic circumcision is insufficient for this alone to be a justification for doing it. . . . Some doctors may wish to not perform circumcisions for reasons of conscience. Doctors are under no obligation to comply with a request to circumcise a child.”
Royal Australasian College of Physicians
“After extensive review of the literature the RACP reaffirms that there is no medical indication for routine male circumcision. The possibility that routine circumcision may contravene human rights has been raised because circumcision is performed on a minor and is without proven medical benefit. . . . Review of the literature in relation to risks and benefits shows there is no evidence of benefit outweighing harm for circumcision as a routine procedure.”
Canadian Paediatric Society
“Circumcision of newborns should not be routinely performed.”
Genital mutilation destroys the majority of sensitivity in the penis. [ http://www.nocirc.org/touch-test/bju_6685.pdf ]
Approximately 230 American males die every year because of circumcision. [ http://www.sexuallymutilatedchild.org/deathsdo.htm ] This is a meaningless and very sad loss of life.
Circumcised males have a much higher rate of sexual dysfunction and premature ejaculation. [ http://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/ ]
And yet doctors still recommend it because it is big business in the United States.
Anyway, I don’t know the religious views of my doctor but abortion is not permitted in my country and circumcision is a rare procedure here. The majority of hospitals refuse to perform the procedure. I imagine it would be a bit of a nuisance if they refused to fill a birth control prescription but I suppose we could just go down the road to a different doctor. I do not personally know any doctors who have refused to fill a birth control prescription.
It can only affect your treatment if don’t arm *yourself* with information. Patients themselves must become fully informed and not allow themselves to be at the mercy of any doctor’s opinions (religious or otherwise).
Why do otherwise responsible people allow themselves to suddenly become like helpless baby birds waiting for the mother bird (doctor) to feed them information? Doctors are not gods, despite what they themselves may believe.
Whether they are devoutly religious Christians, Muslims, Jews, Pagans, or atheists, ALL doctors have their own personal opinions and limitations, and some have medical blind spots (focus areas and treatment options that they have either missed or never fully grasped).
That is why all patients or their families must:
1) research and become fluent regarding their own medical situation, including all available treatment options (doctors can sometimes be ill or uninformed not just prejudiced);
2) seek a second opinion prior to choosing a particular form of treatment;
If patients and/or their families take charge of their own treatment as per the above, the doctor’s personal viewpoints will not determine what treatment s/he ultimately receives.
There’re plenty of doctors out there — FIRE any doctor that will not cooperate with your views. Easy to do. And there are plenty other doctors around.
It is absolutely absurd that doctors feel they have the right to withhold information about treatment from patients. I never thought I’d see the day. If they don’t wish to perform a procedure, fine, just send the patient to someone else. But it flies in the face of good medicine to deceive patients about what options they have available.
I don’t know what my doctor’s religious view are. I don’t care. It doesn’t affect me.
I DO know that she is 100% pro-woman and pro-choice. I would never go to a doctor who I felt was patronizing, or who was anti-choice.
At first I thought you were discussing treatments the patient would never have considered. I imagine that if someone wants an abortion these days they could simply look in the yellow pages considering there is a section listed. There is also the Internet, phamplets, just about everything they could want to know. Doctors should not be expected to perform any procedure they feel in direct conflict with. This should be true regardless of the procedure, especially since there are physicians out there who will perform the procedure.
**What are the odds, truly, that a physician would refuse a referral; especially if it was critical care. I have worked in hospitals, my aunt is a nurse, and I am applying for medical school. The situation you are putting forth would be a violation of ethics, patient’s rights, and would be discussed by every patient who was affected to every person within earshot. The doctor would lose quite a few patients with this attitude. This sounds a bit like scare tactics.
**Well, if the doctor is discussing with the patient his opinion on why he disagrees with the treatment, then I would say the patient is informed about his entire opinion. This is patient information in practice. The patient is still free to seek a second opinion and still free to find a new doctor if he/she disagrees with the doctor’s findings.
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