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Health
Arizona GOP Bill: Doctors Can Conceal Medical Info from Women
Earlier this week, the Arizona Senate approved a bill that would shield doctors from “wrongful birth” lawsuits.
These are lawsuits that could happen if doctors don’t inform pregnant women of prenatal problems that might lead women to decide to have an abortion. So the bill would protect doctors who choose to withhold this medical information.
Doctors would not be liable for complications after birth for failing to fully reveal information about the health of a fetus.
The AZ Capitol Times reports that Republican State Sen. Nancy Barto, who sponsored the bill, believes that allowing medical malpractice lawsuits endorses the idea that a doctor is to blame if a child is born with a disability.
However, there are times when a child can be born with a disability if there is malpractice on the doctor's part.
Additionally, doctors would also be spared from “wrongful life” lawsuits, where undesired pregnancies happen following a vasectomy or other sterilization surgery, which fails.
The Senate's 20-9 vote sends the bill to the state House.
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Comments
Holy Crap! Doctors must
Holy Crap! Doctors must inform their patients of all known medical outcomes - good and bad. Many people will still opt to have a baby with disabilities, and knowing in advance allows people to prepare and to mourn before the baby is born.
There are cases where malpractice is involved. For example, many cases of CP are a result of bad decisions by doctors, and some are unpreventable.
This law goes too far.
Another awesome job by
Another awesome job by Arizona. Why does anyone live there?
Everything I do, I do it for you.
Paulak and Phigmeta: WHY IS
Paulak and Phigmeta:
WHY IS THE GOVERNMENT IN OUR BEDROOM? I THOUGHT REPUBLICANS BELIEVE IN GETTING THE GOVERNMENT OUT OF LIVES........
ANSWER UP!
Everyone wants the government
Everyone wants the government out of their health care and sex life. They do want it to be in everyone else's, though.
This bill is nothing more than more government protection of big medical and a sneaky way of pandering to the "right to life" (anti-abortion) nut jobs.
The law proposes that if the
The law proposes that if the test results are flawed the doctor can't be sued, not that the doctor can withhold those results. Medicine is not perfect. We live in a society where people sue when they spill their coffee on themselves, when criminals can sue when they reap the results of what they sow. When I said a doctor should not be forced to go against his values, if a woman chooses to abort then the doctor should be free to stop treating her.
From the original
From the original article. "“wrongful birth” lawsuits...are lawsuits that can arise if physicians don’t inform pregnant women of prenatal problems that could lead to the decision to have an abortion. So a Dr can decide on his/her own that providing certain information about a fetus might lead someone to have an abortion and withhold that information.
You know, that same information would also be used by potential parents to prepare for having a disabled child. If I'm going to have a child with a disability I want to know as early as possible so I can prepare. I may need to find a dr or therapist that specializes in treating the disability. I may need to make adjustments to my house like building a ramp or something. I may need to change my insurance or start the process of applying for government assistance or finding non-profits that can help me raise the child.
This is absolutely disgusting. A dr that refuses to tell you important medical information should have his medical license revoked. I'm curious how many, if any, wrongful life cases have been brought in AZ, or anywhere.
One thing I want to add. If
One thing I want to add. If a woman is pregnant and the pregnancy has a high chance of killing her she absolutely has to be told. She can still choose whether to have an abortion or not. I know 2 women who knew their pregnancy would kill them, both chose not to abort (I may know others who did abort and survived but they haven't told me). Both died, 1 of the children survived. I think that was a selfish choice because both of those women left children behind without a mother but that was their CHOICE. A Dr has no right to deny a pregnant woman that choice. If those 2 women hadn't had husbands their children would have been left parentless. Any Dr who withholds this kind of info from a woman should lose his license. If she dies he should be tried on manslaughter.
Just what we need....a law
Just what we need....a law that allows a doctor to violate his Hippocratic oath.
By not giving an expectant mother all of the information that she needs about potential problems with a pregnancy, the doctor IS opening himself/herself up to potential malpractice lawsuits by denying necessary information to the patient.
Any law that supports the idea that a Doctor should be absolved of doing his/her medical duty properly and completely, to the best of their ability (not religious conscience), is both amoral and not in keeping with the oath that ALL doctors take.
The insanity principle is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. The far right, the far left, vegans, creationists and other extremists believe in the insanity principle, religiously.
The job of a doctor is to
The job of a doctor is to provide accurate medical ADVICE and provide the treatment selected by the patient. It's the patients responsibility to act on that advice in their best interests. A doctor cannot legally do something to you without your permission, the exceptions being if you are incapacitated or ruled mentally incompetent (a legal procedure, not something the doctor can do on their own). If the doctor doesn't want to perform a procedure/treatment that the patient requests,(i.e. something not called for by the condition) they are free to abstain and let the patient seek treatment elsewhere.
Any occasion where a doctor withholds relevant information from the patient or gives false information is a violation of the standards of care that the doctor should be adhering to without exception, and as such the doctor should bear all the legal responsibility and possibly lose their license. The doctor is free to advise against a specific procedure, even if their objection is solely on religious pseudo-moral grounds, but the decision must rest with the patient. Every procedure and surgery performed in this country requires that the patient provides "informed consent", and the doctor lying or withholding information violates the "informed" portion of that.
Religion is not a valid reason for anything done outside of church.
Way too global. I agree that
Way too global. I agree that "Wrongful life" lawsuits are pretty frivolous and shouldn't be allowed; but people have a right to know about their own pregnancies. Since the doctor didn't cause the birth defect, he shouldn't be sued for it, nor blamed for it. But he should be required to give the mother the information he has. The penalty should be equivalent to any other withholding of pertinent information from a patient.
Im sorry but that is the
Im sorry but that is the WORST headline BS I have ever seen. Seriously you guys should fire your Editor for that waste of flesh.
GOP Arizona Bill Would BLOCK "wrongfull life" suits where the doctor did nothing wrong. In the event that you can prove that the doctor performed and act of malace, the mother could then indeed sue the doctor.
This law BTW was passsed in 9 other states without as much as a tiny outburst.
Me thinks this is yet another distraction attempt. FAIL WRITER
Article says if a Doc
Article says if a Doc withholds information...which is WRONG...
So which is it?
The article is wrong. It's an
The article is wrong. It's an attention grabbing headline by an attention whore to mislead people. It has nothing to do with the actual intent of the law, it is just an attempt to stir people up and start the shit to flying.