In the news of the day, there is a sign at a walk in clinic in Calgary, Alberta which says “Please be informed that the physician of the day will not prescribe the birth control pill.” She was the only doctor on call. Her personal beliefs (of the religious variety) prevented her from allowing a grown woman any dominion over her reproductive rights.

What year is this? 1892?

As if abortion arguments aren’t enough, medical practitioners keep toeing the grey line of professional ethics by denying birth control pills and the Plan B emergency contraceptive. They do this based on their “personal” religious beliefs. What a dangerous precedent, to allow religious quackery into the professional health care of the general public.

Every life is sacred! Or so sayeth the Catholic church, who has long been an adversary to contraception in any form. It doesn’t matter that having a litter of children might sink you into poverty. It doesn’t matter that, as a female, our rights to our own bodies are being ceded to others. It doesn’t matter if you were raped and find yourself pregnant against your will; someone believes that God intends you to follow through.

Perhaps God thought you brought rape on yourself by dressing like a slut, no doubt. And those pregnancies that could kill you to deliver full term? Well, good luck with that. God works in mysterious ways.

Allowing your faith in my medicine means that, in this age of enlightenment, we are still somehow allowing others to take our medical care and lifestyle rights away from us. Where does such a slippery slope end? Will a Jehovah’s Witness be allowed to refuse to provide you an emergency blood transfusion and end your life because of Acts 15:29? Will a Jewish medical professional be allowed to circumcise your child without your authorization? Will you be denied prescription medication that improves your quality of life because, gosh darn it, that pharmacist just doesn’t feel like dispensing it to you? What if, in a bizzare twist of fate, an atheist decides your religion is bullshit and decides that you should be put on mandatory birth control? You know, to prevent you from breeding?

There’s a good reason why church and state should stay separate.

At what point do the rights of others who don’t subscribe to your particular brand of religious dogmatism begin to be respected? My money is being used to pay for public servants who aren’t serving the public when there aren’t enough of these so-called medical “professionals” to go around as it is. What if my personal religious beliefs mean I don’t believe in being forced to pay for your beliefs?

My belief is that I have every much right to freedom of religion as you do, I have the right to control my own body and my family planning, and I have the right to the best standards of health care available. If your belief is contrary to the general standards of medical science and my choices, my belief is that you should find an alternative place to practice your medicine… perhaps in voodoo, where the only victims of your beliefs will be chickens and the occasional goat.

Godspeed to you. Right off a cliff.

 

Photo by Joan Chand’oiseau

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An amazing collection of bright women who somehow manage to work, play, parent and survive and write blog posts all at the same time. We are the BLUNTmoms, always honest, always direct and surprising hilarious.

8 Comments

  1. Being in a public service profession like a doctor means they are bound to serve the public including all races and religions. This sign indicates that this doctor will serve the public as long as the public has the same belief as her. It’s total bullshit!

    • Your comment is bullshit. Why should your beliefs trump the doctors. Go find another doctor you moron.

      • My beliefs should trump the doctors because I believe that EVERY WOMAN has the right to decide how she wants to control her body. But I appreciate that you have the intelligence to debate this topic like a 6 year old and sling names right out of the gate. Come back when you can act like the rest of the grown ups.

      • But the doctor’s belief should trump mine? The doctor should find another profession.

        • Honestly, I’m a little leery about doctors who believe in God. I want someone who believes in science and him or herself. I don’t want someone praying when he or she should be concentrating on what can be done in the real world to save my life.

  2. Here’s my opinion on religion: Believe in Tinkerbelle if you want, but don’t force me to live by your religious rules. Then, we’ve got a problem.

    I can’t believe this is still an issue in 2014. 🙁

  3. Her rights don’t “trump” the doctor’s necessarily but doctors -and other professionals such as lawyers and journalists – have a responsibility to adhere to the standards of their profession & to leave their personal beliefs out of their practice. Doctors take an oath to do no harm. One could argue that by withholding contraception this doctor is potentially harming her patients. One COULD argue this but I won’t because I don’t argue with trolls, Rocky. Find another sandbox and leave this debate to those who are educated, informed and compassionate.

  4. Yeesh. What next? The cashier at Walgreens telling me I can’t buy condoms because his or her religious beliefs mean he or she doesn’t support contraception of any kind?

    This is ridiculous. While I respect their beliefs, the fact is they are there to do a job, not dictate our lives and tell us we can’t and shouldn’t be allowed to care for our bodies. Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic.

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