Monday, May 9, 2011

The American Way?

Is it my imagination that the goal of US Politicians is to make our society as complicated and illogical as possible?
Florida Bill Would Bar Doctors From Asking Patients About Guns
So a pediatrician asks a parent about gun ownership and then refuses care because the parent refuses to answer such a question.

Now, of course, all those touchy NRA types want to prohibit a pediatrician from asking such a question.

I think the concern here should be that this pediatrician refused care BECAUSE the parent refused to answer the question. Perhaps some parents would be perfectly amenable to a discussion about gun safety around kids (or pool safety, or food safety or car safety or airplane safety or potential danger from terrorists or ...).

But this is one creepy pediatrician who won't care for a child because the parent wont state whether they own a gun.

IF a new law is needed, and I'm not suggesting that is the case, perhaps a law limiting the reasons that physicians can deny care would be more appropriate.

Physicians are NOT our moral guides. They are neither trained to be such and most of them are not equipped for such a role. From most of them the best we can expect is that their own prejudices don't interfere with how they do their job. They have training, skills and knowledge. And we can hope they have integrity and empathy and the ability to communicate effectively with us when we need their skills.

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