Keep Your Morals Out Of My Health Care!
Login   Comment   Save article   Message   Print   TheCheers BUDDY   
Hmm... / Life

By Susan Levine, Columnist






The Cheers magazine is looking for creative people to join our forces. We are looking for

  • Writers
  • Special topic/genre writers
  • On-call theme writers
  • Editors
  • Project leaders

    Sounds interesting?
    Click here for more info.










  • More from author
    -  The Titanic Effect...And The Criminal Justice System
    -  Striking Back At Terrorism By Extortion
    -  The New American Witch Hunt
    -  Presumption of Innocence Denied In Virginia
    -  A Supreme Court For the Religious Right? Not If We Can Prevent It!

    See news about
    There will be no page refresh, so check it out.
     


    Who gave doctors and pharmacists the right to make reproductive choices for women? Obviously they did it themselves, when they began refusing to prescribe or dispense prescriptions for birth control pills, and other hormonal contraceptives, claiming moral or religious beliefs as the reason.

    Several stories of women being denied birth control pills by doctors and pharmacists have made news headlines and are sparking more than a little controversy. Many pro-choice advocates, myself included, believe health care professionals, whether they work in a doctors office or a pharmacy, do not have the right to deny contraception to women based on personal beliefs. Doctors and pharmacists on the pro-life side argue that they should not be forced or required to give patients or customers a medication or product that they feel "ends a potential life."

    The concern for pro-choice advocates is whether such a reason is truly legitimate or whether it is an attempt by the Religious Right to make it more difficult for women, particularly unmarried young women, to obtain hormonal contraception. Since the Pill, the new skin Patch, and the vaginal ring generally have higher success percentages for preventing pregnancy than the "faith based" methods like Natural Family Planning, supported by the Catholic Church, one has to wonder. Especially since the conservative religions like Catholicism have long been opposed to most forms of contraception.

    Although most pro-life groups only target abortion rights to be made illegal, and have been doing so since Roe V. Wade was decided in 1973, there are some ultra-right groups that would like to see all forms of contraception legally banned as well. These groups include Quiverfull, an ultra-conservative Christian sect that opposes even voluntary sterilization, believing that all sex activity should come with the "responsibility" of pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood, and that sex should not be indulged in for the solitary purpose of pleasure.

    But Quiverfull is not the only group that opposes contraception. The American Family Association, headed by Rev. Mark H. Creech, is another. In an article that appeared in the AFA Publication Agape Press News, Creech ended his diatribe against abortion and birth control with the following statements:



    Continued On Next Page (contraception, Page 2) ...


    AUTHOR: Susan Levine

    TAGS: Life                           

    BOOKMARK: Digg it  |  Add to Del.ICIO  |  Add to FARK  

    ACTIONS: Comment   Save   Print   Register free acount   



    S. Cathcart




    S. Cathcart says on 2005-02-21 19:24:07 about What a comical assertion!
    A commenter who chose to remain anonymous opined: Actually, America is not a secular country, no matter how much you would like it to be. Frankly, our constitution just doesn't work if it is not lined up with the Christian ideals held by the founding fathers. We are a constitutional republic, and our founding fathers didn't even believe you could call yourself an American if you didn't believe in God. So morals have a place everywhere in this country, especially in government AND healthcare.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Your ignorance is pretty appalling, sir/madam. First of all, the US Constitution is based on English common law. No less a person than Thomas Jefferson specified, in the Treaty of Tripoli, that the US is *not* founded in any way on Christian principles, as it is understood that this is a nation of immigrants. Furthermore, the majority of the so-called Founding Fathers were secular deists and not Christian at all. They believed in a Creator, but not a Christian god.

    Finally, who are you to dictate morality to anyone but yourself? Why are your personal ideals applicable to me in the slightest?






    Mar




    Mar says on 2005-01-02 11:52:30 about America
    Actually, America is not a secular country, no matter how much you would like it to be. Frankly, our constitution just doesn't work if it is not lined up with the Christian ideals held by the founding fathers. We are a constitutional republic, and our founding fathers didn't even believe you could call yourself an American if you didn't believe in God. So morals have a place everywhere in this country, especially in government AND healthcare.






    Lily




    Lily says on 2004-11-23 22:59:42 about
    Interestingly, my experience with this was a bit different. I have an Osteopath instead of a regular medical doctor. About the time in my life when I was first considering sex with someone, I went to her complaining of stomach cramps and three minutes into a five minute appointment, she was writing out a prescription for birth control for me!

    I was somewhat upset that she hadn't even examined me or given me other alternatives, specially since my mum is one of those conspiracy buffs and she has ingrained in me that widespread consumption of birth control and flu shots are govt test expers, haha...

    But then my boyfriend looked at the prescription and was quite thrilled by it!






    Brenda




    Brenda says on 2004-11-22 19:20:07 about I agree with you
    I have to agree with you on this, Susan. Women should not have to be subjected to the moral beliefs of the doctor or pharamcist for birth control. I've always believed that it is a woman's right to do with her reproductive body as she sees fit. I disagree with Nemesis that doctor's a pharmacists are not obligated to prescribe birth control. They are a public entity of sorts, and are therefore obligated to perform a public service, leaving their personal moral beliefs out of it. It's that simple.






    Nemesis




    Nemesis says on 2004-11-22 16:13:58 about your nonsense again
    A birth control pill is not a medication. It's not something a doctor has to prescribe to make you well. It's something you CHOOSE to take. With that in mind, it's not something a Doctor should be compelled to give you if he/she has issues with it. I personally don't care. But to attack Doctors because they don't want to give someone a pill that does nothing to make them feel better from an illness then that's their choice. They don't hand out heroin either. You act like it's a crisis, like the whole birth control world is going to disappear, PLEASE STOP WITH THE SCARE TACTICS. There's plenty of doctor's who prescribe them, plenty of people who won't allow the clock to be turned back to a time when it was illegal for a woman to have a child vacuumed from her insides either. Last time I checked, the other side (the Christians and Right Wingers) has a right to persuade lawmakers too. Your side is just a ridiculous as theirs. Maybe you should all just hump each other for awhile.









    Post Comment

     
     Your nickname
     
     About what
     
     Your comment
     




    ADVERTISEMENTS
    Anxiety - Anxiety, Depression and ADHD related information.


    DUI Attorney - find the right attorney nationwide | vasectomy reversal - Up to 95 percent vasectomy reversal success rate. | Film Transfer | Comcast cable deals - . | credit repair dispute | Staff Leasing Company - | Steel Building | Frigidaire parts

    The Cheers magazine: About us | Contact us | The Cheers Story | Advertising
    Work with The Cheers: Writers guide | Write for us | Writer application | Reporter application | Affiliates
    The Cheers feeds: Free article feeds | Free news feeds
    The Cheers: Brand Lady (sister magazine) | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy | Sponsoring | Sitemap
    Watch: Watch movies online | Watch free tv online | Watch heroes online
    Trade: Virtual stock market | Fantasy investing competitions | Free day trading tips
    Learn: Business videos online | Business networking | Business strategies | Business ideas
      Write for us:  Become a writer    Become a reporter Latest news: New Book Published