Having a child is a big decision to make during your life, but one could also say that is an even bigger decision on whether to keep the baby given a surprise pregnancy. There have always been political and religious debates surrounding the topic of abortion. It is a topic that most people agree to disagree on because there are so many factors that can contribute to a woman's decision. Also, people tend to be strong in their beliefs and no one wants to argue about it all day long. For the purpose of this post, let's make the assumption that a woman has weighed all the pros and cons and is seeking a doctor who will provide an abortion.
Imagine, she goes to the nearest hospital for help and the physician says "No, I won't perform an abortion". Oddly enough, it does happen; and, can be said by any physician in any hospital. There are federal laws that have been in place since the 1970s that allow physicians to reject performing or assisting in a procedure without the consequence of losing their job. This could be a perfectly fine law if it were being used by physicians to politely step away from a procedure in order to provide the best care for the patient. Instead, religious hospitals, particularly Catholic healthcare systems, seem to be abusing the laws. Although Catholic hospitals are fully protected under law to not provide abortions, some hospitals have been taking it one step further. All physicians that work in a Catholic-affiliated healthcare system must sign a contract that states they will provide care that is in-line with the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic healthcare. This means that these physicians cannot perform an abortion, even in unaffiliated clinics as a side job.
These laws are being abused by religious healthcare systems in a way that not only hinders the patient, but also the staff. The contract, in which physicians must sign to work at a religious hospital, is forcing religious beliefs onto the staff, and in turn the patients, as well as interfering with the physicians' moral beliefs as healthcare providers.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/11/26/668347657/for-doctors-who-want-to-provide-abortions-employment-contracts-often-tie-their-h
Thank you so much for sharing. I am curious if these contracts are legally bound to physician employment? I would imagine that under the law, physicians would have the right to perform abortions at separate clinics regardless of the contract signed. However, I found another article that seemed to parallel the instance you described above. In this case, a physician’s job was threatened for considering publicly addressing anti-abortion activists. Just last year, a bill titled Abortion Provider Non-Discrimination Amendment Act was introduced to the Judiciary and Public Safety committee. This bill would reinforce physicians right’s to perform safe and legal medical procedures without fear of discrimination from employers. While it is still currently under consideration, as future members of the medical community, I believe it is important to support groups lobbying on behalf of the proposal.
ReplyDeletehttps://nwlc.org/blog/doctors-testify-employers-have-to-stop-punishing-us-for-providing-abortion/
http://lims.dccouncil.us/Legislation/B22-0571?FromSearchResults=true
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ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing this up, I agree that this is a huge issue in women's health care that limits women's reproductive choices. Over the past few years there has been a wave of Catholic hospital mergers and now 1 in 6 patients are treated at Catholic facilities (Hafner, 2018). This has particularly effected rural areas where Catholic hospitals are the sole provider of acute care, restricting women’s access to reproductive services. Furthermore, this problem may be compounded with the recent regulations passed by the Trump administration that broaden exemptions for contraceptive care to women. These regulations allow institutions to deny contraceptive care to women for religious reasons, potentially expanding the list of reproductive services that these Catholic facilities will refuse to provide (Redden, 2018).
ReplyDeleteHafner, K. (2018, August 11). As Catholic Hospitals Expand, So Do Limits on Some Procedures. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/health/catholic-hospitals-procedures.html
Redden, M. (2018, May 25). Here’s What Happens When A Catholic Hospital Won’t Try To Save You. Huffington Post. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/catholic-hospitals-refuse-to-treat_us_5b06c82fe4b05f0fc8458db3