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beam me up scottie
beam me up scottie's Journal
beam me up scottie's Journal
May 11, 2015
When the Catholic Church owns your doctor: The insidious new threat to affordable birth control
Cross-posting from the other room, trotsky's thread didn't get much love so I'm reposting here.
When the Catholic Church owns your doctor: The insidious new threat to affordable birth control
Eight of the largest health systems in America are now Catholic-owned. More and more won't prescribe conraception
Patricia Miller
Angela Valavanis had already had one bad encounter with the Catholic health care system when St. Francis Hospital, the hospital in Evanston, Ill., where she delivered her second baby, refused to allow her OB/GYN to tie her tubes because of Catholic restrictions on the procedure. When she went to her doctors office for a check-up after the birth and asked about going back on the Pill, since she hadnt gotten the sterilization she wanted, she got another shock: My doctor told me that she couldnt prescribe birth control because she had sold her practice to a Catholic health system, said Angela. My mouth dropped open. I was so confused to hear those words coming out of the mouth of an OB/GYN.
An OB/GYN who cant prescribe birth control? Its not some bad joke. It could be a reality if your doctors practice is purchased by a Catholic health system that then imposes the Ethical & Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, a set of rules created by the U.S. Bishops Conference that prohibits doctors from doing everything from prescribing the Pill to performing sterilizations or abortions.
...
And with Catholic hospital systems accounting for eight of the 10 of the largest nonprofit health systems in the U.S., these hospitals are poised to become major owners of doctors offices, which could severely impede access to contraceptives if doctors are forced to follow the Directives. The more we see these Catholic systems buying up these practices, the more we are going to see what Angela saw, predicted Lorie Chaiten, director of the Illinois ACLUs Reproductive Rights Project, who notes that such refusals are legal under Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act.
...
But for some women, changing doctors may not be an option. Health insurers are becoming increasingly restrictive about which hospitals and doctors a patient is allowed to use and may charge a steep penalty for going out of the network of preferred providers. Smaller towns and rural areas may not have a large selection of OB/GYNs. The ACLU is backing a measure in the Illinois Legislature that would require health systems to tell patients beforehand what services they dont provide and where they can get them. Chaiten also encourages women who have been denied reproductive health services for religious reason to report it to the ACLU, which is tracking this trend.
Ironically, Angelas experience with her OB/GYN wasnt her last run-in with Catholic health care. After she was refused a tubal ligation and a prescription for birth control, Angelas husband decided to get a vasectomy. His doctor, who was also part of the Catholic system, said his practice couldnt do the procedure or make a referral. The whole situation is so unbelievable to me. I had no idea these limitations occurred, she says. When I tell my friends about it, they say its medieval. We have to worry that if they keep buying up all these practices, it will get harder and harder to find someone who can prescribe birth control.
http://www.salon.com/2015/05/11/when_the_catholic_church_owns_your_doctor_the_insidious_new_threat_to_affordable_birth_control/
Eight of the largest health systems in America are now Catholic-owned. More and more won't prescribe conraception
Patricia Miller
Angela Valavanis had already had one bad encounter with the Catholic health care system when St. Francis Hospital, the hospital in Evanston, Ill., where she delivered her second baby, refused to allow her OB/GYN to tie her tubes because of Catholic restrictions on the procedure. When she went to her doctors office for a check-up after the birth and asked about going back on the Pill, since she hadnt gotten the sterilization she wanted, she got another shock: My doctor told me that she couldnt prescribe birth control because she had sold her practice to a Catholic health system, said Angela. My mouth dropped open. I was so confused to hear those words coming out of the mouth of an OB/GYN.
An OB/GYN who cant prescribe birth control? Its not some bad joke. It could be a reality if your doctors practice is purchased by a Catholic health system that then imposes the Ethical & Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, a set of rules created by the U.S. Bishops Conference that prohibits doctors from doing everything from prescribing the Pill to performing sterilizations or abortions.
...
And with Catholic hospital systems accounting for eight of the 10 of the largest nonprofit health systems in the U.S., these hospitals are poised to become major owners of doctors offices, which could severely impede access to contraceptives if doctors are forced to follow the Directives. The more we see these Catholic systems buying up these practices, the more we are going to see what Angela saw, predicted Lorie Chaiten, director of the Illinois ACLUs Reproductive Rights Project, who notes that such refusals are legal under Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act.
...
But for some women, changing doctors may not be an option. Health insurers are becoming increasingly restrictive about which hospitals and doctors a patient is allowed to use and may charge a steep penalty for going out of the network of preferred providers. Smaller towns and rural areas may not have a large selection of OB/GYNs. The ACLU is backing a measure in the Illinois Legislature that would require health systems to tell patients beforehand what services they dont provide and where they can get them. Chaiten also encourages women who have been denied reproductive health services for religious reason to report it to the ACLU, which is tracking this trend.
Ironically, Angelas experience with her OB/GYN wasnt her last run-in with Catholic health care. After she was refused a tubal ligation and a prescription for birth control, Angelas husband decided to get a vasectomy. His doctor, who was also part of the Catholic system, said his practice couldnt do the procedure or make a referral. The whole situation is so unbelievable to me. I had no idea these limitations occurred, she says. When I tell my friends about it, they say its medieval. We have to worry that if they keep buying up all these practices, it will get harder and harder to find someone who can prescribe birth control.
http://www.salon.com/2015/05/11/when_the_catholic_church_owns_your_doctor_the_insidious_new_threat_to_affordable_birth_control/
May 1, 2015
Leave it to an anti-theist to point out the obvious: "when youre trying to engineer an egalitarian society, messing with nonexistent variables doesnt seem all that helpful."
An Anti-Theist’s Interpretation Of The Bible’s Opinion On Same-Sex Marriage
An Anti-Theists Interpretation Of The Bibles Opinion On Same-Sex Marriage
April 29, 2015 by Peter Mosley
Heres my interpretation of the Bibles opinion on Same-Sex marriage:
Anything derogatory it says about same-sex marriage is nothing more than prejudice against gay individuals by primitive tribes.
...
So, what Id like you to do is throw your Bible away. Because, honestly, this is ridiculous. Why the heck would you hang on to that ancient rulebook crafted by bigots? Its time to look past that to people who exist and who love each other.
I guess thats why Im an anti-theist. I see progressives and conservatives and fatheists arguing over what God supposedly REALLY said, and Im standing here like can we move pass this? Can we move past trying to get to the true meaning of texts and start looking at, like, the flesh and blood people right in front of us?
...
I mean, this is absurd. Im tired of being trapped in a stone age when there are people in the current age who want to show their love for each other.
Lets quit making this so damn complicated. Two people love each other. They want to get married. Awesome.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/barrierbreaker/an-anti-theists-interpretation-of-the-bibles-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/
April 29, 2015 by Peter Mosley
Heres my interpretation of the Bibles opinion on Same-Sex marriage:
Anything derogatory it says about same-sex marriage is nothing more than prejudice against gay individuals by primitive tribes.
...
So, what Id like you to do is throw your Bible away. Because, honestly, this is ridiculous. Why the heck would you hang on to that ancient rulebook crafted by bigots? Its time to look past that to people who exist and who love each other.
I guess thats why Im an anti-theist. I see progressives and conservatives and fatheists arguing over what God supposedly REALLY said, and Im standing here like can we move pass this? Can we move past trying to get to the true meaning of texts and start looking at, like, the flesh and blood people right in front of us?
...
I mean, this is absurd. Im tired of being trapped in a stone age when there are people in the current age who want to show their love for each other.
Lets quit making this so damn complicated. Two people love each other. They want to get married. Awesome.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/barrierbreaker/an-anti-theists-interpretation-of-the-bibles-opinion-on-same-sex-marriage/
Leave it to an anti-theist to point out the obvious: "when youre trying to engineer an egalitarian society, messing with nonexistent variables doesnt seem all that helpful."
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