this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2023
971 points (96.4% liked)

politics

18651 readers
3570 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.
  2. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  3. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  4. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive.
  5. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  6. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

A gay doctor who is one of Louisiana’s only specialist paediatric cardiologists has left the state after the introduction of a Don’t Say Gay copycat bill and a ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth.

Jake Kleinmahon, who was one of just three doctors specialising in heart transplants for children in Louisiana, chose to leave the state with his family, as they no longer felt safe.

Kleinmahon met and fell in love with his husband Tom in New Orleans, and the couple expected remain in Louisiana, even after retirement. However, he told CNN that the state’s anti-LGBTQ+ legislation made him and his family feel unwelcome and that he ultimately “didn’t have a choice”.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 188 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Was born premature, and required open heart surgery when I was only a few days old.

When I was around 17 I had the chance to visit the hospital and tour the children's ICU I had been in. A children's ICU is not the happiest place in the world, and there were strange looks from both staff and parents as we walked around, feeling very awkward.

Then a short man with a thick accent burst through the door and hugged me. Turned out, the doctor who had performed my surgery was there and insisted on showing me around personally.

He walked me over to a woman who was about the saddest person I have ever seen, sitting next to an incubator. "This is what your son will look like in 18 years" he told her.

They took my picture, and hung it on the board for the kids who had "graduated", and I have to believe it was the first time in a long time that room had joy and happiness in it.

If someone had told me that that doctor wasn't welcome because he had a husband I think I would have wanted to become violent.

This law means that those families now have 1/3 fewer people to give a chance for thier kids, and the odds for me hadn't been that great to begin with.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 11 months ago (1 children)

What was the woman’s response to that comment from the doctor? Because that is a one impactful statement! How did it feel to basically be a example for hope to that woman that day?

[–] [email protected] 23 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

She didn't say anything really, just smiled and thanked the doctor.

While I was too young to fully understand it at the time, it still had a big impact on me, and looking back on it now I tear up a bit.

That day is the reason, years later when joining the military, I took an MOS fixing medical equipment. I'm no health care worker, but I'm damned good w tech, and fixing the machines that help fix people always meant a lot to me.

I don't know what happened with either her or her child, but I suspect the doctor knew because he said it with such confidence, I doubt he would have given her false hope.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago

Thank you for sharing your story here

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

I was a little over 1 years old when I had a heart attack. My mom put me down for a nap and it happened shortly after that. I feel lucky in that I'm 34 and haven't had any major complications, but it does mean I am a little more at risk later on in life.

Either way, this was up in Alaka. There's really not as much up there. The idea of that happening, my mom getting me to the hospital, and then finding out that the person they needed just left a few weeks ago? In a way, I wouldn't know, but I can't imagine my mom going through that.