As usual, Gail Collins says it all so much better than I could.
Read it and weep.
CommentsCategory Archives: Public Policy and Governance
A Question of Professionalism
First there were the laws that allowed pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions for legal medications that violated their religious beliefs.
Now, Tennessee and several other states are considering legislation that would protect social workers and mental health professionals who turn away suicidal clients when those clients’ “life styles” offend the provider’s religious beliefs. If the suffering client is gay, or divorced, or otherwise not up to the “moral standards” prescribed by the counselor’s religion, the proposed law protects the “professional” who refuses help against liability for the results of that refusal.
I’d be tempted to ask the sponsor of this measure if he really believes that Jesus would approve of turning away people in pain–especially those at risk of suicide– but that’s beside the point. The personal religious beliefs of a professional are also beside the point. We expect a “pro life” policeman to arrest arsonists, even if those arsonists are burning down an abortion clinic. We expect public school teachers to instruct all the children in their classrooms whether or not they approve of a particular child’s gay parents. Most of us would be appalled if an emergency room doctor refused to treat a badly beaten prostitute because his religion taught that she “had it coming.”
Professionalism requires adherence to the norms of that profession. People who are unwilling to accept those norms and act accordingly need to find different careers.
CommentsCountdown
Warning: if you are in a good mood, skip this post, because I’m finding it very hard not to be depressed by the constant reminders of of American institutional dysfunction.
Everywhere you look, there are people who should know better engaging in self-defeating behaviors and magical thinking, fiddling while America burns. I’ve tried to examine the unease I’ve been feeling–the growing anxiety that I’ve been experiencing. Until yesterday, however, I couldn’t put my finger on it–couldn’t find an analogy that fit.
Yesterday, it came to me: we’re on the self-destruct countdown.
Those of you who are Star Trek fans will understand the reference. Spaceships in science fiction always come equipped with a self-destruct sequence, to be used as a last resort to keep the ship from falling into enemy hands. Typically, the captain and first officer will enter their codes into the computer, signaling their agreement to begin the countdown; the dramatic tension comes as the computer’s disembodied voice counts down the minutes until the ship will explode and kill all the crew and passengers.
On television, of course, the bad guys are thwarted in the nick of time, and the destruct sequence is aborted (usually with mere seconds to spare).
We’re not on television, however, and a real countdown clock is ticking. Unless we do something pretty soon to change our trajectory, we stand a good chance of destroying the America we’ve known–the America with a robust middle class, a functioning government and a belief in its ability to meet daunting challenges like those posed by climate change, technology and globalization.
Yesterday’s post was a pretty graphic demonstration of the way in which wealth is currently distributed in the U.S. There’s ample evidence that disparities of this magnitude are profoundly destabilizing–that left unaddressed, they are inconsistent with a functioning democracy. Too many lawmakers in Washington and state capitols around the country are partisan, inept, or lightly tethered to reality–and the result is government that is so broken that no one trusts it anymore.
This paralysis–this inability of American government to act on behalf of the common good–is our self-destruct countdown.
It’s maddening, because there are so many positive elements of American society. I look at my students, and I’d be proud to turn the country over to them; they are thoughtful, inclusive, determined to contribute to their communities. I look at what science and technology have accomplished, and I marvel at the human ingenuity that has made life better for millions of people. Our arts communities are vibrant. Our universities are adding to the sum of human knowledge.
The thing is, all of those social goods require a functional infrastructure: government. And ours is on self-destruct.
CommentsFun with Trans-vaginal Probes….
It was only a momentary diversion, but yesterday the Indiana Senate debated a proposed amendment to the offensive bill requiring (among other things) that poor women wanting prescriptions for abortifacants undergo two trans-vaginal probes.
Here’s the relevant language:
“Before giving, selling, dispensing, administering, prescribing, or otherwise providing an erectile dysfunction drug to a man showing symptoms of erectile dysfunction, a physician licensed under IC 25-22.5 shall do the following:
(1) Examine in person the man showing symptoms of erectile dysfunction.
(2) Conduct a prostate examination or oversee a prostate examination by an individual who is licensed or certified in Indiana and whose scope of practice includes the conducting of a prostate examination.
(3) Document the following information on the patient’s medical records:
(A) The size of the patient’s prostate.
(B) Whether the patient is showing symptoms of benign prostate problems.
(C) Whether a benign prostate problem could be contributing to the patient’s erectile dysfunction.
(4) Provide the following information to the man diagnosed with erectile dysfunction:
(A) A copy of the final printed drug label.
(B) The name and telephone number for the physician who prescribed the erectile dysfunction medication and information for follow-up care in the event of an adverse event described in section 2 of this chapter.
(c) A physician licensed under IC 25-22.5 who gives, sells, dispenses, administers, prescribes, or otherwise provides an erectile dysfunction drug to a man shall schedule a follow-up appointment with the man at approximately fourteen (14) days after prescribing the erectile dysfunction drug to:
(1) conduct a physical exam, including an electrocardiogram, to ensure that the man is healthy enough for continued sexual activity; and assess the degree to which the erectile dysfunction drug has aided in temporarily relieving the symptoms of erectile dysfunction.
(d) The physician described in subsection (c) shall make a reasonable effort to ensure that the patient returns for the follow-up appointment described in subsection (c), including recording in the patient’s medical records:
(1) the date and time of the follow-up appointment;
(2) a brief description of the efforts the physician and the physician’s staff took to ensure the patient’s return; and the name of the individual who performed the efforts.
There’s more, but you get the idea.
Gee–I wonder why this eminently reasonable amendment, motivated solely by concern for the health of the male patient, was voted down.
CommentsQuote of the Day
From Dick Lugar’s first address after leaving elective office, an observation worth pondering:
Perhaps the most potent force driving partisanship is the rise of a massive industry that makes money off political discord. This industry encompasses cable news networks, talk radio shows, partisan think tanks, direct mail fundraisers, innumerable websites and blogs, social media and gadfly candidates and commentators. Many of these entities have a deep economic stake in perpetuating political conflict. They are successully marketing and monetizing partisan outrage.
Comments