Blocking Care for Women

[anya-D 8]

Op-Ed Contributor

Blocking Care for Women

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Laws that have been on the books for some 30 years already allow doctors to refuse to perform abortions. The new rule would go further, ensuring that all employees and volunteers for health care entities can refuse to aid in providing any treatment they object to, which could include not only abortion and sterilization but also contraception.

Health and Human Services estimates that the rule, which would affect nearly 600,000 hospitals, clinics and other health care providers, would cost $44.5 million a year to administer. Astonishingly, the department does not even address the real cost to patients who might be refused access to these critical services. Women patients, who look to their health care providers as an unbiased source of medical information, might not even know they were being deprived of advice about their options or denied access to care.

The definition of abortion in the proposed rule is left open to interpretation. An earlier draft included a medically inaccurate definition that included commonly prescribed forms of contraception like birth control pills, IUD’s and emergency contraception. That language has been removed, but because the current version includes no definition at all, individual health care providers could decide on their own that birth control is the same as abortion.

The rule would also allow providers to refuse to participate in unspecified “other medical procedures” that contradict their religious beliefs or moral convictions. This, too, could be interpreted as a free pass to deny access to contraception.

Many circumstances unrelated to reproductive health could also fall under the umbrella of “other medical procedures.” Could physicians object to helping patients whose sexual orientation they find objectionable? Could a receptionist refuse to book an appointment for an H.I.V. test? What about an emergency room doctor who wishes to deny emergency contraception to a rape victim? Or a pharmacist who prefers not to refill a birth control prescription?

The Bush administration argues that the rule is designed to protect a provider’s conscience. But where are the protections for patients?

The 30-day comment period on the proposed rule runs until Sept. 25. Everyone who believes that women should have full access to medical care should make their voices heard. Basic, quality care for millions of women is at stake.

Hillary Rodham Clinton is a Democratic senator from New York. Cecile Richards is the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/opinion/...amp;oref=slogin

I think this is getting too far... I can understand about refusing to perform abortion but included giving the contraception? come on!!!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I think this is getting too far... I can understand about refusing to perform abortion but included giving the contraception? come on!!!

I agree. It's crazy.

[alienlovechild 75]

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Oh yeah, now I get it.

[anya-D 8]

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Oh yeah, now I get it.

ehh? I dont know how that happened.. I copy and paste from NYTimes..

[Sister Fracas 5]

I'm just waving at you Anya....

[anya-D 8]

I'm just waving at you Anya....

Wave back

Thanks

[Tsup2 0]

Abortion is not health care. It is the termination of a life.

[HAL 9000 96]

Freakin insane.

There goes the Hippocratic Oath out the window.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Legislating on the basis of articles of faith is always dodgy. Pretty typical of this administration though - they were all over that Terry Schiavo thing, even to the extent that they almost caused a constitutional crisis by giving 2 different branches of law enforcement conflicting orders.

[HAL 9000 96]

Coincidentally, the GOP doesn't have any issues not blocking HMOs et al from covering male-oriented drugs like Viva Viagra. Or are Dems equally horny in that matter too?

[sara..... 371]

there is a lot more to it than just this article......my mom had chest pains before we ever left for pakistan the last time she went to the doctor all he did was give her something for indigestion she suffered a heart attack in pakistan and ended up with congestive heart failure.........here in the states no one seems to know what she gets from over seas that keeps her healthy they have only a couple of APPROVED medication that dont do anything really......finally she went to a doctor that told her sure u can get most of it here but ur hmo wont pay for it and the cost was so expensive she couldnt either so now she waits in between being healthy and sick for her medication to come from over seas sometimes its sent back sometimes its destroyed and sometimes it makes it to her........had the doctor done any type of testing on her for chest pain they would have found the problem before we went over seas........but about 7 times out of 10 if a women goes to the doctor with chest pain it is waved away but if a man goes he gets the full ram of test i seen it happen in my own family my dad went with chest pains shortly after she did and was given every test u can imagine.....(same doctor).....out come no heart problem!!!!!

[anya-D 8]

there is a lot more to it than just this article......my mom had chest pains before we ever left for pakistan the last time she went to the doctor all he did was give her something for indigestion she suffered a heart attack in pakistan and ended up with congestive heart failure.........here in the states no one seems to know what she gets from over seas that keeps her healthy they have only a couple of APPROVED medication that dont do anything really......finally she went to a doctor that told her sure u can get most of it here but ur hmo wont pay for it and the cost was so expensive she couldnt either so now she waits in between being healthy and sick for her medication to come from over seas sometimes its sent back sometimes its destroyed and sometimes it makes it to her........had the doctor done any type of testing on her for chest pain they would have found the problem before we went over seas........but about 7 times out of 10 if a women goes to the doctor with chest pain it is waved away but if a man goes he gets the full ram of test i seen it happen in my own family my dad went with chest pains shortly after she did and was given every test u can imagine.....(same doctor).....out come no heart problem!!!!!

I'm sorry this happened to your family! Can you try other place?

[sara..... 371]

there is a lot more to it than just this article......my mom had chest pains before we ever left for pakistan the last time she went to the doctor all he did was give her something for indigestion she suffered a heart attack in pakistan and ended up with congestive heart failure.........here in the states no one seems to know what she gets from over seas that keeps her healthy they have only a couple of APPROVED medication that dont do anything really......finally she went to a doctor that told her sure u can get most of it here but ur hmo wont pay for it and the cost was so expensive she couldnt either so now she waits in between being healthy and sick for her medication to come from over seas sometimes its sent back sometimes its destroyed and sometimes it makes it to her........had the doctor done any type of testing on her for chest pain they would have found the problem before we went over seas........but about 7 times out of 10 if a women goes to the doctor with chest pain it is waved away but if a man goes he gets the full ram of test i seen it happen in my own family my dad went with chest pains shortly after she did and was given every test u can imagine.....(same doctor).....out come no heart problem!!!!!

I'm sorry this happened to your family! Can you try other place?

she has been sick for over six years now we have tried everyplace here so only option is medication from over seas its surprising how healthy she is when she has her medications.........its too bad the hmo is like a business not really even about health anymore ..........did u know that if ur child needs ear surgery that it is a board of mostly non doctors deciding if they are going to approve the surgery? we didnt know until my younger brother needed it.........insurance is a good idea and it helps so many but there are parts of it that just does not make any sense at all.........anyways thats my rant for the day lol

sara

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Abortion is not health care. It is the termination of a life.

So you think.

I think different.

The law gives a woman the right to choose. Don't like - work to change that law.

And yup brother mavi - there goes the Oath; which will now be renamed the Hypocritical Oath.

[IAMX 3,055]

No surprise private insurers, or, better yet, dumbasses with hypocritical moral values, would want to prevent a woman from performing an abortion. And to the poster who talks about private health insurance, this is the exact reason why there's no compromise with conservatives on the issue. Far, far too ideological, and it isn't even regarding them. Keep your own beliefs to yourself and quit trying to enforce them on others. Doctors are already allowed to be bigoted if they choose. Thankfully there's enough Planned Parenthood's out there to assist women in making a better choice, which might include adoption, or even performing an abortion to put themselves in a better position to parent later and ultimately (hopefully) learn from their mistake.