I don't want your god in charge of my health care

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Let’s say a patient is considering a tubal ligation after a planned Caesarean section because she doesn’t want to get pregnant again. Here are some factors that pertain to that decision: her vision of her reproductive future, her doctor’s advice, state regulations, the recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the latest scientific research.

Here are some factors that, for most patients, do not pertain: “God’s purposes,” “God’s will,” “the truth that life is a precious gift from God.”

But if our hypothetical patient happens to be in a Catholic hospital, those factors — precisely those words — will be controlling the decision, whether or not she or her doctor believes in God’s plan. It’s plainly spelled out in the ethical directives of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: “Direct sterilization of either men or women, whether permanent or temporary, is not permitted in a Catholic health care institution.” She won’t get the operation no matter how medically safe and legal it is, no matter what she wants.

Clearly, she should have picked a different hospital. But with the expansion of Catholic health systems all over the country, that might not be an option. A 2020 report by Community Catalyst, a nonprofit health advocacy group, found that four of the 10 largest health systems in the country were Catholic. The Catholic Health Association says that Catholic facilities now account for more than 1 in 7 U.S. hospital patients.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/26/catholic-hospital-secular-reproductive-health-care/

[Farmer-Rick]

1. Ah American healthcare

Forcing birth and imaginary creatures in the sky on every suffering person for a huge price.

[walkingman]

2. "Sky Gods" only work at religious revivals.....it's called a scam.

[Genki Hikari]

3. It's not just the Catholics who pull this nonsense

I had a doctor refuse to give me a tubal without my owner's permission. Er, my husband. The one I was divorcing.

WTF?

This was at a military base, no less.

And not in 1962 or even 72, but 1992.

These sexists act like we don't know our own mind. I was 30 years old. I'd had a kid and knew I'd never want another one.

The MD next tried the tactic of, What if something happened to your child?

Only a man could ask something so stupid, as if one child could replace another in my heart. How sick and ghoulish do you have to be to talk about somebody's kid dying, anyway?

I ended up telling him he wasn't smart enough to speak for me, and to do the job he was paid for, or refer me to someone who would.

Turned out it was hospital policy for the spousal permission. No matter what the age of the woman.

So my next call was to my soon-to-be ex. I wasn't even nice about it: I told him what he'd do, and he knew better than to argue with it. I was there when he called the idiot MD. When asked if he was sure about doing it, my husband burst out laughing. The rest of the conversation went something like this:

"You don't tell her what to do. Her mother and I send each other sympathy cards after what she does to us when we try it. And she likes us. You, not so much. Just shut up and do what she wants, because you will, anyway."

I wasn't mad at him for saying any of that. It was all true.

[LittleGirl]

4. LOL loved that story.

Nobody tells me what to do either. ha ha.
thanks for the early morning chuckle.

[Hekate]

5. Damn, you are fine, sister!

[Hekate]

6. I've been warning for 20 years about the Catholic takeover of hospitals...

In a sense it is really not their fault, as they are simply doing what they do, which is practice medicine according to their god’s dictum. In a world full of secular hospitals, this would not be a problem.

Unfortunately, small not-for-profit community hospitals have been driven out of business and “consolidated” under big for-profit chains — generally in big cities. Are we a great country or what?

Small towns, rural communities, and so forth have remained in serious need. In step the Roman Catholics, hearts full of charity. Of course they have to be paid just like anyone else, because of overhead, salaries, and building maintenance — but imagine the sense of relief you’d feel if your kid with the laceration needing lots of stitches didn’t have to be driven 60 miles to the nearest ER. Women’s complete healthcare? We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Oy.

So now this particular chicken has come home to roost. What could possibly go wrong?

Just remembered: before COVID, the University of California’s medical school in San Francisco got into a kerfuffle with the Catholics over medical school training because the contract everybody signed about them sharing the hospital and not imposing their religious beliefs on UC students turned out not to be worth the paper it was printed on. I don’t know how that turned out because COVID threw a monkey-wrench into both education and medical care.

[Martin Eden]

7. Their "God" is as fake as Republican Jesus

They use religion as a tool to enforce their own narrow minded bigotry.

It has nothing to do with God or Jesus and everything to do with politicians exploiting the beliefs and cultural attitudes of voters to gain political power.

[Irish_Dem]

8. Religious institutions should not own hospitals.

How would they like it if doctors and nurses were in control of their churches?

[twodogsbarking]

9. I like your thinking.

[Irish_Dem]

10. RN's go into the churches and make everyone get vaccinated.

Wear masks, wash their hands, and eat properly.

Turnabout is fair play.

[Ladythatvotesblue]

12. Amen to that.

[Ladythatvotesblue]

11. I believe

in God.
I do not believe in the Catholic Church anymore. Their ability to trust that the human brain (which God gave us) can do miracles with Science is unfathomable, and infinite.
Religion is designed to control the masses.

[Elessar Zappa]

13. To be fair,

the Catholic Church is much more open to science than most evangelical churches. The Vatican has accepted evolution for instance. That doesn’t excuse their misogyny and homophobia though.

[ShazzieB]

15. I believe in God, too.

In my own conception of God, that is, and I sure as hell don't want somebody else's conception of God dictating my medical care, or that of my loved ones. Fortunately for me, I'm postmenopausal, but my daughter won't be out of her "fertile" years for a while yet, and I do worry about her sometimes.

[appalachiablue]

14. K/R