Another victory for anti-intellectualism

The Bush administration has just committed yet another injustice against the people of the United States. It has passed a rule that protects medical workers who decide to deny care to patients if they believe the techniques involved in that care violate their personal beliefs.

That means, for instance, if a young woman has been raped and gets unlucky enough to be seen by a doctor or nurse who believe that birth control and abortion are immoral, then its perfectly fine for the doctor or nurse to withhold vital information about the options that woman has to avoid becoming the mother of her rapist's child.

This is, in short, insanity.

It would to me, at least, seem to violate the Doctor's Oath of "First, do no harm" as having to move forward with an unwanted pregnancy due to rape visits a multitude of harms on the woman involved.

But, no, if a medical worker is uncomfortable with a particular medical technique, they can no refuse to do it and the patient will have no recourse when they later find they were denied legitimate medical care.

Of course, this rule was rammed through over vigorous protest (this rule was opposed by the American Medical Association, plenty of health-related organizations, 28 senators and more than 110 House members) to throw the pro-life movement a bone before Bush slinks back to Texas with his tail between his legs.

But, while I hope that the Obama administration quickly reverses this ghastly legislation, I hope it comes back to haunt the people who passed it, perhaps by having one of them being refused necessary medical treatment because he or she was seen by doctors who think that aiding anti-intellectuals in any way goes against their personal beliefs... one can hope.

Ken