I’m so sick of him
God forbid Bush would focus on something as mundane as the economy in his final days.
The outgoing Bush administration is planning to announce a broad new “right of conscience” rule permitting medical facilities, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare workers to refuse to participate in any procedure they find morally objectionable, including abortion and possibly even artificial insemination and birth control.
For more than 30 years, federal law has dictated that doctors and nurses may refuse to perform abortions. The new rule would go further by making clear that healthcare workers also may refuse to provide information or advice to patients who might want an abortion.
It also seeks to cover more employees. For example, in addition to a surgeon and a nurse in an operating room, the rule would extend to “an employee whose task it is to clean the instruments,” the draft rule said
Right of conscience? So… can a doctor/nurse refuse to treat to an adulterer? A convicted murderer? How about homosexuals? We are legislating “moral conscience,” aren’t we? Seems like a pretty personal decision to me. So where is that line drawn?
Tags: Bush
I read this aritcle today in the News Journal and almost choked on my cereal. Yes this will give the most extreme and the most stupid wingnuts a reason not to offer medical assistance to gay and lesbians. I’m not sure about convicted murderer’s or adulterer’s, anybody out there want to comment.
Can I exercise my right of conscience not to give money to these assholes? At least one good thing will come out of this – it will identify the people we need to avoid.
I’m sensing a huge slippery slope here.
Absolutely, pandora. Will people refuse to sell lung cancer treatments to smokers? What about refusing to sell potato chips to overweight people?
George Bush is the “Monster Mash” of Presidents.
I think the Gnostics put an exception in the Hypocratic Oath that allowed them to refuse treatment to scumbag mortgage brokers and the politicians bought and paid for by the banking industry.
Wouldn’t you think that pharmacists who object to birth control pills would make this objection known before going to pharmacy school? I would imagine that the school, on reviewing the conservative pharmacist-to-be application would say, “Uh, its the job of pharmacists to dispense pills; if you have a problem with that there really is no point in us accepting you into the pharmacy program.”
Similarly, doctors who have a problem treating people should make this known upon application to medical school. Make their applications much more quickly dispensed of.