is a physician and a long-time blogger who alerted readers today about states that are considering enacting so-called “Right of refusal” laws for physicians. Or, as he so aptly put it, “right to bigotry and discrimination” laws. The idea being bandied about is that physicians and allied health care professionals will be legally permitted to determine which parts of medicine/nursing/pharmacy they wish, independent of considerations such as, say, professional responsibility. Personally, I would strip any pharmacist or physician who refused to perform any approved procedure of their ability to continue to practice. Immediately.
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SH says
I can understand the concern – but doctors have rights too. The right to come home from work safe every day. I would say that instead of denying treatment to people who need it – doctor’s have the right to SAFE working conditions to perform treatment. If they do not – then they shouldn’t have to risk their life for their job.
As for moral issues stopping doctors from performing treatment – honestly, I think they should have the right to choose. For instance: I may believe in abortion – but if they don’t and may be traumatized by performing that procedure – definately they should have the right not to. There are enough doctor’s out there who either believe in the cause, or will do anything for a buck.
You can not deny one group of people personal freedoms and choices, to grant personal freedoms and choices to another group of people. THAT is discrimination. THAT is bigotry. I may disagree with a physicians decision – but I don’t have the moral right to take away his right to make a personal decision.
Michael Boyle says
As far as the first part goes, SH, I agree that everyone has the right to be safe in the workplace. I don’t think that has anything to do with the issue at hand, however.
As far as the second part is concerned, I believe that physicians have always had the choice – to NOT practice medicine. We don’t and should not give letter carriers the right to refuse to deliver certain kinds of mail. We don’t give police officers the right to refuse to investigate crimes they don’t personally want to investigate.
When we take on a job, we take on the sum of the professional responsibilities and tasks that go along with it. If one refuses to live up to those responsibilities, one should no longer call themselves a professional, one should no longer practice that profession at all. You can’t just cherry-pick the parts of the job that are fun. A profession like medicine is more serious than that.
(BTW it has nothing to do with ‘bigotry’. Using hyperbole like that is ridiculous and reflects very badly on a commenter here.)