Madeline Miller
CONTRIBUTOR
Many people have not experienced the pain and frustration of being ignored and denied medical care. When doctors have a moral or religious objection to treating their patients, the quality of care suffers.
Under a law proposed by President Donald Trump, doctors would be allowed to pick and choose which patients they treat and which health services they perform. This could be catastrophic for already marginalized people seeking proper health care.
Women and LGBT+ patients have always faced discrimination, but this could lead to outright denial of care, especially in areas of low population.
Women seeking abortions or birth control of any kind could find that the only gynecologist in their area denies them what they need. Much like seeking necessary abortions in rural states now, obtaining life-saving reproductive care will become expensive, difficult and rare.
LGBT+ patients in similar rural areas may find themselves denied care simply for their sexual orientation. In addition, transgender patients looking to transition may find it impossible to find a doctor who will allow them the resources needed to do so.
Taking birth control pills for any reason, including essential health functions, would be reason enough for a doctor to deny a patient care for religious reasons. Doctor’s would be allowed to deny health care to patients who are already critically at risk of going without care.
Areas where there may be only one doctor for miles also tend to be the areas where doctors would enforce their “right” to turn away patients that infringe upon their religion.
This is the same ideology that leads to “pray the gay away” camps and the indefinite incarceration of women perceived to be promiscuous in horrific, abusive asylums.
At the end of the day, a doctor’s job is not to serve the patient in the best ways that their religion allows. It is to heal the patient in the best ways that science has to offer.
Health care is a basic human right. Patients should not be denied care for a doctor’s religionPatients everywhere, but especially in rural areas, will suffer under Trump’s proposed rule.
Denying people health care is a serious violation of the rights of the people, but unfortunately it is those whose rights have never been violated who are deciding to take the step over that line. If one person in charge of making this decision was even slightly marginalized, no one would have to face losing their health care to this proposed rule.
In a world where so many civil rights infringements are so near in our past to us, it is astounding that anyone would endeavor to come up with a way to create even more.
