Hippocrates & Hypocrisy

Hi,

I can't sleep again, so I thought I would keep myself occupied by scribbling a little.

To further develop the train of thought I last hopped on, I thought I might discuss the role that doctors can/should/do play in this whole jumble we call life. First and foremost, it is a physician's responsibility to 'do no harm'. That is basically what the Hippocratic oath is. They take an oath to not hurt people. Beyond that, the rest is gravy.

Seems simple enough right? Unfortunately nothing is simple when it comes to abortion. The first question here is what constitutes harm? Then, harm to whom? Then, how to weight harms? Who decides the answers to these questions? On what basis are those decisions made?

Not so simple anymore...

So what constitutes harm? The new legislation passed in South Dakota makes it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion unless the pregnant woman's life is in danger. Whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, you have to stipulate that a law which prohibits doctors from acting in the best interests of their patients on an individual basis is one which prevents them from upholding their oath to do no harm. You may argue that an abortion is harming a fetus, but not performing an abortion on an unwanted pregancy is also doing harm; perhaps not as dramatic, but harm nonetheless. It is refusing the woman's right to self-determination.

So let's get back to our doctors' role in this mess. What's a doctor in South Dakota to do? Or better yet, what's a doctor in El Salvador to do? If a woman is admitted to hospital and a doctor suspects her of having had an abortion, that doctor is supposed to report her to the police. Not only is that a breach of what we would consider doctor patient confidentiality, it would most likely lead directly to harm. So, a doctor in a place where abortion is a felony finds herself stuck between a rock and a hard place: obey the law or uphold the Hippocratic oath.

If a woman and her physician decide that the right course of action is an abortion, then that should be the result. A doctor should not face criminal charges for helping patients. Pierre Trudeau once said that the government had no place inside the bedrooms of the citizens of the nation (or something to that effect). I don't believe that the government has any right to be inside the doctors' offices of its citizens either. I'm not suggesting that doctors are infallible; they are human, and thus, prone to err. However, we can't expect them to excel when we won't even let them uphold the basic oaths of their office. Abortion is not always the answer, but neither is abstinence; clearly. This situation is complicated enough without the threat of jail time.

One of the articles I read quoted a woman (an American who worked for Planned Parenthood) who said something to the effect that Republicans only cared about protecting life until birth. After that, they didn't care about the child anymore. I'd never seen that written or heard it said that way before, but it seems so true. Where are all the pro-life protesters when the unwanted children are abandoned and become part of the foster system? Where is all the love and respect for the child after she is born and becomes neglected?

I think that's probably enough of my rant for today.

Ciao ciao,
Lesle