this post was submitted on 05 Oct 2023
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Tara Rule says her doctor in upstate New York was “determined to protect a hypothetical fetus" instead of helping her treat debilitating pain.

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[–] [email protected] 400 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (23 children)

If doctors (or pharmacists) want the choice to impose their own religion on their patients, then at minimum need need to disclose that before ever meeting a patient. Additionally it would disqualify them from accepting any patients that are subsidized with taxpayer money.

This could act like the Surgeon General's warning on a pack of cigarettes:

WARNING: this physician acts with their own religion in mind before your well being. This could be a danger to your health.

[–] [email protected] 128 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)

I don't understand why this is even allowed. If someone had a religious opposition to consuming or enabling the consumption (cooking, serving, etc) of certain foods -- shellfish, pork, sweets during lent, meat in general, whatever -- that person could not reasonably expect to get a job in a restaurant where that food is regularly served. Like, if a waiter showed up for work at a steakhouse one day and refused to touch any plate with meat on it on religious grounds, no one would be on that waiter's side when there are vegan restaurants that waiter could have applied to instead.

Doctors are held to a different standard because... the mental gymnastics say it's totally fine when it's a woman being denied service I guess?

If these healthcare "professionals" only want to treat men like they deserve humane care, they should be in a field more suited to their preferences.

Failing that, yes, I agree with your comment entirely.

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[–] [email protected] 96 points 1 year ago (5 children)

No, they should have their medical license revoked. Doctors have to swear an oath to not intentionally or knowingly harm a patient for a reason, because their well being is their top priority. If they can't adhere to that oath because of arbitrary religious/philosophical/political/whatever beliefs, then they have no business being a medical professional.

[–] [email protected] 54 points 1 year ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (3 children)
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[–] [email protected] 90 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Based on what I've read in r/childfree, it's far more common than not for doctors to prioritize the needs of a hypothetical husband or fetus over those of a real live woman. I've also known someone in real life who couldn't get a painful medical condition fixed until her mid 30s because the treatment caused sterility. The problem goes way beyond religion; it's more a matter of institutional sexism and the hubris of doctors thinking they know better than any woman who says she doesn't want kids.

[–] BeaPep 51 points 1 year ago (7 children)

I've been to several different OBs trying to solve my almost-two-year-long-period and every single one of them refuses to do anything for me. I'm just "too young" for them to stop me from having kids one day. And giving me a hysterectomy is "too dangerous" and "risky" when my life isn't in danger. It doesn't matter that I've tried everything they suggest. Try it again!! It's so fucking tiring.

I've just given up paying the constant doctor fees to see asshole doctors anymore and just figure I'll either stop having the problem eventually or I'll be "old enough" (40 maybe?) to finally get surgery... It's all a nightmare, especially in the religious south...

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I'd check with a women's group or Planned Parenthood for a doctor recommendation. They might know some sane ones.

Having been married to a sane one, I do know they're spectacularly gunshy of affecting a woman's fertility because it can get them sued into the ground if they do something like that to someone that someday wants kids. And patients lie, so when you tell a doctor that you don't want kids, they assume you're going to change your mind. And I'm not sure if there's a disclosure you can sign that would hold up in court if you changed your mind one day. So there's that.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago

my friend was having enormous clots come out during her horrifically long periods, losing the amount of blood that was actually making her anemic and causing her problems, and they still didn't want to do anything because she was only in her 30s. thankfully she finally found a doctor who was like 'wow yeah you need that thing taken out of there its killing you' and she got it removed, but the fact she had to go through all that stress and pain to find anyone who would help her is absurd.

[–] PrincessLeiasCat 15 points 1 year ago

Can you find a doctor near you in the list in the r/childfree sidebar? That’s how I found mine, and she’s great. Good luck to you, I hope things turn out better. I’m sorry this is a thing :(

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

r/childfree has a list of providers by state that regularly provide hysterectomies. I recommend checking it out, and when you call for an appointment, say that you want a consultation for a hysterectomy and don't say anything else. I saw one of the providers from that list and she agreed that a hysterectomy was appropriate for me (31 years old, no kids) in part because of how horrible my periods are when I'm not on continuous hormonal birth control. The only reason we didn't schedule the surgery right then and there is because the Depo shot is working for the moment and she was concerned about how the recovery from surgery would affect my ability to study for medical school and board exams.

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Or, and hear me out, don't let them deny medical care based on their religion.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago

Claiming this is due to religion isn't accurate. This happens all the time due to plain old misogyny. Women have a tough time getting proper medical treatment at all, not just when it overlaps with religious fruitcakes.

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[–] [email protected] 232 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Even worse then the headline...

One of the nurses started calling other hospitals lying about what happened, and even found the patient on Facebook and messaged her partner

She knows has to travel outside of the state to get appointments

[–] [email protected] 99 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well that sounds like an open-and-shut HIPPA violation case.

[–] [email protected] 53 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (2 children)
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[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago

And I thought the time my mom got "fired" from her primary care because the nurse flatout lied about her interaction with her was overkill...

[–] [email protected] 196 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Holy fucking Handmaid's Tale.

"Your womb is worth more than you."

I hope they take his license after the insurance companies drop him.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago

Maybe I'm just being pessimistic but I'm nervous that she's going to lose and this whole misery machine is just going to keep churning.

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[–] [email protected] 93 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Albany Medical Health Partners is who she's suing.
The specific hospital was Glenn's Falls.
For anyone wondering.

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[–] [email protected] 88 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Damn, unbelievable this shit is still happening. It was outrageous then, it's just barbaric now.

[–] [email protected] 59 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Conservative = Regressive. The worst part is that they only pine for it because of nostalgia and nostalgia has a tendency to be viewed through rose colored glasses

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago (2 children)

To paraphrase a wise owl, when you look at something through rose colored glasses, all of the red flags are just flags.

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[–] [email protected] 75 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Glens falls hospital is a toilet with entire floors that are abandoned. They don't even have fans for the women in the birthing center because "people keep stealing them" according to the staff so all this horribly hot summer, women that are about to have or just had a baby have to sit in a pool of sweat with no moving air in their rooms. It cost several thousand a day to stay there, but they can't provide $20 desk fans.

[–] winterayars 17 points 1 year ago

Damn, it really sounded like you were describing the USSR for a second but then you said "It cost several thousand a day to stay there..."

[–] [email protected] 73 points 1 year ago (4 children)

This kind of shit makes me sad every time I see it. Unbelievable the lengths some women have to go to get the medication they need. I am so tired of these types of doctors.

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[–] [email protected] 58 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (43 children)

This sort of thing has been common practice since long before Dobbs. And it is usually motivated by the doctor's fear of getting sued over birth defects, especially if there is an alternative prescription that is not known to be associated with birth defects. And there almost always is an alternative.

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[–] [email protected] 56 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Next week: drinking age for women raised to 50, just in case.

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[–] [email protected] 53 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I suspect that such decisions are being driven by fear of tort liability WAY more than any religious or social beliefs of the medical practitioners. I’m not trying to argue in favor of denying women needed medical treatment in any way, shape, or form—it’s just that my lawyer senses are tingling, and I wonder if this is an area where Doctors are overall more likely to get sued if they offer the treatment than deny the treatment. Any MDs in here want to offer a more informed opinion of what the F is going on with such denial of care situations?

[–] [email protected] 69 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

No, not in New York. These were personal decisions on the part of the health care providers, and I think this lawsuit is not only appropriate but desperately needed.

The suit is exactly targeted. When fetal personhood is considered to outweigh the life of the mother, it’s absolutely something that needs to be fought tooth and nail. When a hypothetical future fetus is determined to be more important than the life and health of the mother, we’ve entered into a zone that can only be called psychotic.

There is no case that makes it more clear that they’re turning women into sub-persons.

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I'm surprised this happened in NY. That's the kind of BS you'd expect elsewhere.

This is so fucked up.

[–] [email protected] 47 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Up-state NY is more rural and conservative. Towns in the mountains can be fairly small and isolated; those areas vote extremely red.

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 year ago (3 children)

As soon as you see “upstate”, you can bet it’s as provincial as any near midwestern state. I grew up along the southern border with PA. It’s more conservative than most people think. The Amish and Mennonite residents feel right at home in those communities.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Good. They need to be sued.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago

I have chronic pain. I also have the privilege of being male, so I do not have to go through what she went through, but I would probably not make it out of it alive considering how severe my pain is and what I tried to do about it once before.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (7 children)

I agree with the points made in this article, but I don't think they did due diligence in reporting on what doctors or hospitals blacklisted her and why. I'd like to know the reasoning behind why she was denied treatment everywhere locally. I suspect that there's an interesting story there.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

Wouldn't contraceptives be an even better protection?

You can't have birth defects if you're never conceived *taps head*

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)

What is the medicine in question? Any other MD (or better, neurologist) here? As far as I know, most of the standard treatment for cluster headaches are safe for pregnant women...

[–] crazyminner 51 points 1 year ago (17 children)

She's not pregnant though so it wouldn't matter.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Not a Dr. but enjoy a good scientific paper.

Intranasal dihydroergotamine is a category X. Aka it causes fetal damage.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3971427/

Also for those that don't know a cluster headache is a migraine on steroids. Also referred to as "suicide headaches" due to a common event prior to effective treatment.

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