Hypothetical

JesusWalks78 · Nov 2, 2006

There is an episode of Boston Legal that has a girl that gets raped, and gets pregnant.

She then sues the Catholic Hospital that doesnt issue birth control (in this case the morning after pill).

Knowing that Catholics do not give that kind of treatment...do you think they should have sued the hospital, or could they simply have gone elsewhere or gone and got the pill from another pharmacy?

Caylin · Nov 2, 2006

JesusWalks78 said:
There is an episode of Boston Legal that has a girl that gets raped, and gets pregnant.

She then sues the Catholic Hospital that doesnt issue birth control (in this case the morning after pill).

Knowing that Catholics do not give that kind of treatment...do you think they should have sued the hospital, or could they simply have gone elsewhere or gone and got the pill from another pharmacy?

I don't know enough about the case, however time may have been an issues, since there are treatments you can give someone that may have come in contact with HIV to prevent them from contracting it, but they are very time sensitive, in which case going to another hospital would have been too long.

I personally feel that if a hospital is going to practice emergency medicine, then they better be prepared to dispense with all meds, not just the ones they think are moral.

bammertheblue · Nov 2, 2006

Well...was there anywhere else she could have gone? I know that we're talking about a TV show, but in real life often there is not just another hospital or pharmacy down the street that a rape victim (or any other patient who needs plan B) can go to.

I'm inclined to say that if you don't want to dispense medicine, you shouldn't be in the health profession.

RavenPoe · Nov 2, 2006

If another hospital was an option, it would have been better to go there. However, if the Catholic hospital was the only option they should have given the emergency contraception. Kinda like how they can't refuse treatment even if you can't pay.

KarateCowboy · Nov 2, 2006

bammertheblue said:
Well...was there anywhere else she could have gone? I know that we're talking about a TV show, but in real life often there is not just another hospital or pharmacy down the street that a rape victim (or any other patient who needs plan B) can go to.

I'm inclined to say that if you don't want to dispense medicine, you shouldn't be in the health profession.

Yah, be like Kevorkian.

JustJack! · Nov 2, 2006

In the episode, IIRC, she was unconscious and didn't have a choice which hospital to go to.

She was completely just is suing to hospital. Her medical care shouldn't be determined by someone else's morality. I find that sick, and in this country, we should have some sort of federal guideline that forces hospital to stock those kinds of meds, if they want to continue being a hospital.

And not to spoil the episode for anyone, but I find it ironic how in the end, she had to get an abortion because of an ignorant policy that stopped her from getting the medicine to stop the pregnancy when she needed it.

Belk · Nov 2, 2006

JesusWalks78 said:
There is an episode of Boston Legal that has a girl that gets raped, and gets pregnant.

She then sues the Catholic Hospital that doesnt issue birth control (in this case the morning after pill).

Knowing that Catholics do not give that kind of treatment...do you think they should have sued the hospital, or could they simply have gone elsewhere or gone and got the pill from another pharmacy?

Interesting question. I am inclined to say no, she should not have sued. She went through a tragic event, but I do not see that giving her the right to demand that others violate their morals.

I have not seen this show but with a name like "Boston Legal" one would assume it is set in Boston. I find it difficult to believe there was not some other avenue that could have been followed to procure the medication she desired.

JustJack! · Nov 2, 2006

Interesting question. I am inclined to say no, she should not have sued. She went through a tragic event, but I do not see that giving her the right to demand that others violate their morals.

And what about her right to not have her medical treatment determined by quacks who put their morality above their patient?

I have not seen this show but with a name like "Boston Legal" one would assume it is set in Boston. I find it difficult to believe there was not some other avenue that could have been followed to procure the medication she desired.

I'm enclined to agree. But as I said before, she was unconcious for some ammount of time which is why she missed the 3 days deadline. If that were the case, the hospital needs to put though the cleaers, and should be forced to pay for an abortion if the woman so chooses.

Hospitals that put their morality before their patients deserve no respect, no lienency, no forgiveness.

Blackguard_ · Nov 3, 2006

I personally feel that if a hospital is going to practice emergency medicine, then they better be prepared to dispense with all meds, not just the ones they think are moral

Morning after pill!= emergeny medicine

She was completely just is suing to hospital. Her medical care shouldn't be determined by someone else's morality. I find that sick, and in this country, we should have some sort of federal guideline that forces hospital to stock those kinds of meds, if they want to continue being a hospital.

And forcing doctors to become cold mercenaries isn't sick? Heaven forbid a doctor has a conscience....

And not to spoil the episode for anyone, but I find it ironic how in the end, she had to get an abortion because of an ignorant policy that stopped her from getting the medicine to stop the pregnancy when she needed it.

....so the system works.

In the episode, IIRC, she was unconscious and didn't have a choice which hospital to go to.

So how'd they know she wanted the pill? Did she wake up pregnant and say "why didn't you pill me!!!(like she cared. how did getting the abortion later hurt her?)"

Caylin · Nov 3, 2006

Blackguard_ said:
Morning after pill!= emergeny medicine

And forcing doctors to become cold mercenaries isn't sick?

....so the system works.

If she has been raped and doesn't want to have a baby then it is.

Blackguard_ · Nov 3, 2006

If she has been raped and doesn't want to have a baby then it is.

How is it an emergency? The pregnancy is not going to harm her, she simply doesn't want it, and she still has plenty of oppurtunity to get rid of it later.

You know, they should balance that episode out with one where a Catholic woman is raped and Secular Humanist General gives her the morning-after pill.

JustJack! · Nov 3, 2006

Morning after pill!= emergeny medicine

You have to take it within three days, and if you don't want to be pregnant, as stated by Dracon, it's a pretty damn big emergency.

And forcing doctors to become cold mercenaries isn't sick? Heaven forbid a doctor has a conscience....

Dispensing the morning after pill isn't being a cold mercenary. It's respecting one's right to have their choice of medical care.

....so the system works.

I suppose if you consider the Catholic Church creating demand for abortions a working system, yes.

So how'd they know she wanted the pill? Did she wake up pregnant and say "why didn't you pill me!!!(like she cared. how did getting the abortion later hurt her?)"

I don't think she was unconscious for the whole three days. Like I said, I saw it last year, I've smoked a lot of pot since then, and the only thing I'm really certain of is that when the show aired, it all made sence and all your thought-provoking questions were answered.

Maybe JW can explain it a little better than me, since he's seen it and probably doesn't smoke as much of the hooch.

DaRkWoLf · Nov 3, 2006

JesusWalks78 said:
There is an episode of Boston Legal that has a girl that gets raped, and gets pregnant.

She then sues the Catholic Hospital that doesnt issue birth control (in this case the morning after pill).

Knowing that Catholics do not give that kind of treatment...do you think they should have sued the hospital, or could they simply have gone elsewhere or gone and got the pill from another pharmacy?

I dont watch TV let alone that show so I dont know all of the variables here. Ill trust JustJack! that she was unconscious.

Considering that she was raped, and seemingly not a catholic, a morning after pill would most likely prevent an abortion further down the road.

Situations like that, which can and do happen in various forms in the real world, always create huge messes. Theres never an answer that will always satisfy everyone. In a different situation, imagine if she was a hard-line catholic and did receive BC while unconscious.

I personally believe that emergency centers should be void of personal factors and have an established protocol that is universally applied unless the subject verbally requests or has written and signed requests otherwise, for this reason among others.

JustJack! · Nov 3, 2006

How is it an emergency? The pregnancy is not going to harm her, she simply doesn't want it, and she still has plenty of oppurtunity to get rid of it later.

Pregnancy wreaks a serious toll on a woman's body, and can prove fatal in certain cases.

Abortion also wreaks a serious toll on a woman's body. It's much safer for the woman to take the morning after pill. It's aso a good deal cheaper.

You know, they should balance that episode out with one where a Catholic woman is raped and Secular Humanist General gives her the morning-after pill.

Except that she would have a choice as to whether or not she wanted it, so that wouldn't be much of a conflict.

JustJack! · Nov 3, 2006

I dont watch TV let alone that show so I dont know all of the variables here. Ill trust JustJack! that she was unconscious.

She was out of it when she was taken to the nearest hospital available. I just don't remember how long she was out for.

MoonlessNight · Nov 3, 2006

Pregnancy wreaks a serious toll on a woman's body, and can prove fatal in certain cases.

Threads like these just aren't complete until someone treats pregnancy like a disease.

JustJack! · Nov 3, 2006

Care to disprove what I said?

bammertheblue · Nov 3, 2006

MoonlessNight said:
Threads like these just aren't complete until someone treats pregnancy like a disease.

But pregnancy can be harmful, and can be fatal, and if you're pregnant and don't want to be, I'd venture to say it might feel an awful lot like a disease.

Wait, I mean "Awww, pregnancy is always all sweetness and light and at the end you get a cuddly-uddly baby".

That would be just as silly to say. Every pregnancy is different, and a woman who really wants to be pregnant is going to feel a lot differently about it than a woman who was raped.

levi501 · Nov 3, 2006

As a public service, obviously the hospital shouldn't have a choice.
A Dr. doesn't have a right to force his morality onto another person.

*edit - underlined what was changed.

Belk · Nov 3, 2006

levi501 said:
As a public service, obviously the hospital should have a choice.

If they recieve money from the state or federal government I would agree. However I don't think we should require this of a private institution.

levi501 said:
A Dr. doesn't have a right to force his morality onto another person.

Agreed, he does not. I think that the flip side is true as well however. We do not have the right to force our morality on a Dr. or private medical facility. As I said, if they are a public facility I think it is a different story.

From what JustJack! is saying it sounds like there is a lot more circumstances to the episode of which we have not been informed. It seems to me that a lot of assumptions must be made in order to awnser the question.

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