On Ethics and the Workplace

Late last year, the ethics committee of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued an opinion paper titled "The Limits of Conscientious Refusal in Reproductive Medicine". This is well worth the read- it addresses some of the core issues of the "conscientious refusal" movement that is so popular with wingnuts who happen to have a "Dr." in front of their names these days. Most pointedly, it asks the question- is it right for a doctor to impose their personal beliefs on a patient who may not share those beliefs?

Of course, the Bush administration couldn't resist being all buttinsky about the suggestion that doctors might have a greater moral obligation to put the well being of their patients before their supposed personal beliefs. HHS secretary Michael Levitt shot off a letter to the director of ACOG, stating in part:

I am concerned that the actions taken by ACOG and ABOG could result in the denial or revocation of Board certification of a physician who -- but for his or her refusal, for example, to refer a patient for an abortion -- would be certified.

In other words, the Secretary is concerned that a doctor who fails his or her duty to present all available options to their patient, and in the end do what is best for the PATIENT, might lose their license. These doctors, the Secretary is arguing, should be able to pick and choose what parts of their job they really want to do, and the big mean bossman shouldn't force them to do the other parts.

Let's step into the real world for a minute. Let's say my company entered into a contract to buy a chain of steakhouses. Naturally, as a vegan and generally ethical person, I have a strong moral objection to this, so I mention my objections to my supervisor, and ask that I be allowed to not participate in this transaction. He'll sit there patiently, hear me out, thank me for my input, and then wish me luck in finding a new job. Michael Levitt would not write him a letter begging him to reconsider, I'd bet.

The bottom line is, doctors (especially obstetricians and gynecologists) and pharmacists and their ilk shouldn't get a pass here. Their job is to operate in the public interest and in the interest of their patient, however personally distasteful they might find the patient's choice or the most logical treatment. If they don't find that the job suits their "conscience", they need to find another line of work.

And yet, Congress continues to prop up this notion that health care workers are somehow different from the rest of us when it comes down to doing our jobs. The Hyde-Weldon Amendment, inserted annually into a budget appropriations bill near you (gee, how'd that get in there?) codifies the following statement:

no federal, state, or local government agency or program that receives federal health and human services funds may discriminate against a health care provider because the provider refuses to provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortion.

Oh, Henry Hyde. How we miss you- always hiding your anti-woman agenda in giant bills completely unrelated to the subject at hand. It's like a little easter egg hunt!

Anyways, to wrap this lengthy rant up, the government should not be in the business of telling organizations what their ethics should be, and health care professionals should decide what's best for their patients based on communication and medical knowledge, not their fear of where they might end up in some mystical afterlife. It's that simple really. And if you agree, I encourage you to let your health care providers and government officials know how you feel at every given opportunity. You are paying for their Mercedes and third vacation homes, after all. :)

Sign the Petition to Repeal the Hyde Amendment!

I've mentioned the National Network of Abortion Funds in this space before. One of their big projects currently is working for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment- I recently received an appeal from them that I wanted to share with you:

Dear Friend,

Abortion is still legal in the U.S., but every year thousands of women are denied this right because they don't have the money to pay for abortion care.

Low-income women are often forced to use money they need for food and rent to cover the cost of an abortion. Many women cannot raise enough money and must continue the pregnancy and stay trapped in poverty. Women face this difficult situation because in 1976 Congress passed the Hyde Amendment, which excludes abortion from government-funded health care programs.

We urge you to join the more than 60 groups in the Hyde – 30 Years is Enough! Campaign demanding an end to this injustice! Sign our petition calling on Congress to repeal the Hyde Amendment and restore coverage of abortion for low-income women.

Women enrolled in Medicaid and similar programs receive coverage for all medically necessary health care services, including prenatal care, labor, and delivery. However, as a result of the Hyde Amendment, a woman enrolled in Medicaid is denied assistance in most circumstances if the care she needs is an abortion.

Sign the petition and make your voice heard! Our goal is to collect 20,000 signatures to deliver to Congress by January 22, 2008. With your help we can meet this goal! Please forward this email to your friends and colleagues and encourage them to sign.

By signing the petition, you join a strong, national effort called the Hyde – 30 Years is Enough! Campaign. The campaign is led by the National Network of Abortion Funds, a network of groups that raise money to help women cover the cost of abortions. A complete list of organizations participating in the campaign can be found here.

Please join us and sign the petition now!

Together, we can create a society in which all women have the power and resources necessary to make healthy decisions about their bodies and families.

Thank you,

The Hyde – 30 Years is Enough! Campaign
www.hyde30years.nnaf.org

Please, take a second to sign the petition. And again, I implore you to use some of your free time or funds to help out the abortion fund in your area. True reproductive justice can't be achieved while abortion is still financially out of reach of anyone in our communities.

Ron Paul? Really? Are you sure about that?

Every couple of days, I get emails, letters and telegrams from you, my valued readers, asking something along the following lines:

"Stegan, we know you're a huge Dennis Kucinich fan, but what do you think about the "Ron Paul Revolution"?"

I have to admit, I'm new to the Ron Paul watch, so I decided to check out some of his positions. He's anti-war and would pull us out of Iraq (good), against the Patriot act (very good), against trade deals such as NAFTA (good), wants to take us out of the UN (huh?), abolish the Federal Reserve (um, okay), abolish the IRS (alrighty then), return decisions on abortion and contraception to the states (BAD), repeal all federal gun laws (BAD), return all decision making power over medicine and education to the states (BAD), and make the rights of homeschooling families paramount (WHAT?).

His views appear to have drawn in support from white supremacists and the forced birth crowd, as well as certain numbers of anti-war republicans and people who enjoy saying "Ron Paul" while intaking their favorite illegal or semi-legal substance. To each their own, I say. I mean, as a Dennis Kucinich supporter, who am I to judge who you vote for?

But let me ask the Paulies this- your boy wants to return a large number of powers to the individual states. Have you looked at your state assembly (or legislature, or what have you) lately? Some of them only meet every two years! They think teachers unions shouldn't be allowed to strike! They think they know better than anyone what you, or your partner, or your mother should be allowed to do with your bodies! They are, in short, elected officials. The minor leagues of elected officials, no less. And while I'm honestly not a big fan of Congress, I think they've usually got smarter people telling them what to do than your standard breed local politician.

In the final analysis, it seems like Ron Paul really just wants to pass the buck down to the states (and the UN) and create a system of federal governance where the bigwigs in Washington can sit back and say "Hey, it's not my problem!"

Which, now that I think about it, might be the perfect system of government for the early 21st Century United States- we have after all become the "Hey, if it doesn't affect me, I don't care about it" culture. Hm- maybe I should reconsider this whole Ron Paul thing...

So you like abstinence only education, do ya?

Your tax dollars pay for this man to speak at schools:



My personal favorite comes at about the 4:00 mark, where he goes on about how all the aborted fetuses are thrown in a blender and put into makeup. Not to mention the shame he's heaping on anyone in the audience who may have already had sex, or an abortion, or, god forbid, kissed someone...

Gah! I will say that I think it's great that one of the students was annoyed enough that he got out his camera and filmed this- this is the stuff that these righties won't show when they tape a presentation for teevee or anything like that. This is the stuff that Henry Waxman rightly went after this multi-million dollar industry for spewing (if you do click on that link, spend some time on the Guttmacher Institute website- you'll learn something).

The worst part is, even when you scream at the top of your lungs about this, you get the feeling no one's listening.

Defend Dr. George Tiller

Dr. George Tiller is one of my heroes, and just an amazing human being. I'll have more to say about this later, but I wanted to get this up- excellently worded:

Defend Dr. Tiller

Blog post by Peter Rothberg in The Nation, Tue Aug 7, 6:50 PM ET http://www.thenation.com/blogs/actnow?pid=220941

Dr. George Tiller, one of the few late-term abortion providers in the US, pleaded not guilty last Friday to 19 misdemeanor charges brought against him by the state of Kansas. The charges revolve around a state law which requires that two legally and financially uninvolved physicians sign off on any late-term abortion procedure--a law that seems to have no other purpose than to make life difficult for abortion providers.

The charges against Tiller brought by Attorney General Paul Morrison allege that in 19 procedures from July to November 2003, the Wichita doctor consulted with Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus. The attorney general has said they had a financial relationship, although he hasn't been more specific. As a result, he faces up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine for each of the nineteen charges.

As a comprehensive cross-post by Cara at Feministing.com and thecurvature.com details, Tiller has a long history of being harassed for his work and these allegations are just the latest chapter. He has faced regular protests at his clinic, other trumped-up criminal charges, physical threats, severe vandalism and constant intimidation. He has also been shot.

This new law under which he's been charged is harassment, pure and simple. That's why Tiller's attorneys are challenging the constitutionality of the statute. (A hearing was set for Aug. 10.) Moreover, as Cara rightly insists, "Requiring written approval of any late-term abortion procedure from two independent physicians is not only requiring the abortion provider to seek permission to practice medicine, it's also essentially requiring that the woman get permission to successfully request medical care. Her choice, along with the medical advice of her doctor, is not enough. Late-term abortions, contrary to what anti-abortion activists constantly profess, are not undertaken lightly. The women who receive medical care at Dr. Tiller's facility come from all over the country; Dr. Tiller is hardly going to be their first medical consultation. They seek their abortions either due to health risks to themselves or severe fetal deformity. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who likes late-term abortion, and that includes the women who need them."

Tiller has been operating bravely for years doing thankless work in the face of constant efforts to drive him away from his practice. The latest charges against him are meant to distract as much as punish and make it financially prohibitive for him to continue his services. So now he needs our help. Please send donations and words of support by mail to the address below:

Women's Health Care Services
5107 East Kellogg
Wichita, Kansas USA 67218