Tara Rule says her doctor in upstate New York was “determined to protect a hypothetical fetus" instead of helping her treat debilitating pain.

  • bassomitron@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    No, they should have their medical license revoked. Doctors have to swear an oath to not intentionally or knowingly harm a patient for a reason, because their well being is their top priority. If they can’t adhere to that oath because of arbitrary religious/philosophical/political/whatever beliefs, then they have no business being a medical professional.

    • ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Pharmacists are also licensed professionals. If ANY healthcare worker cannot carry out the core duties of their profession, for whatever reason, in an equal manner regardless of personal belief and/or the identity of the patient, their license should be revoked.

      Why do we maintain the licenses of individuals who cannot or will not complete the duties of the job for which they are licensed? To me, that defeats the whole purpose of a licensing system for healthcare workers. It’s not a license to dispense only to people with whom you agree and when you want to do so; it is an assurance on behalf of the community that you will carry out your duties professionally and ethically toward all, without exception.

    • TopRamenBinLaden@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      I agree. A doctor putting their own religious beliefs over established medical science and the well being of their patient is completely against the Hippocratic Oath.

      • medgremlin@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        Unfortunately, the original Hippocratic oath that many doctors swear to includes a line about not performing abortions or prescribing abortifacients.

        It is my understanding that, at the time that version of the oath was written, that was less a prohibition of abortion and more a matter of pregnancy and abortion being under the purview of midwives, not physicians.

        To that point, I wrote my own medical oath that I will hold to because I think that things like autonomy, free choice, and dignity in death are actually important.

        • TopRamenBinLaden@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Thank you for clarifying, I did not know that about the Hippocratic Oath. I think it’s really cool that you wrote your own Oath. Thank you for your empathy and service to humankind.

          • medgremlin@lemmy.sdf.org
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            1 year ago

            The medical school I’m currently in is an Osteopathic school that leans pretty hard into the Christian traditions/origins of osteopathy, so it’s not terribly uncommon for me to get into philosophical and ethical arguments with my classmates and professors. There are a bunch of them that I know that I’ll never change their minds about most things, but the others who listen in to those arguments might be swayed or at least given a seed of doubt to explore further.