Testing your doctor's religious views
I don't know and don't ask the religious views of most of my doctors. But I have always attempted to ascertain the world view of my OB/GYN. I've had friends whose doctors pressured them hard to abort their children who were not "perfect." One of my friends actually had to find a new practice mid-way through her pregnancy because of how awful her doctors were when they found out her son was likely to be born with Down Syndrome. It was horrible. My own doctor, who has seen me and my friends for over a decade, is a no-nonsense woman from Jamaica who will pray with you if you miscarry or are having other trouble. I have repeatedly trusted her with my life and deeply appreciate her.
But this study suggests that questioning my other doctors might be worthwhile, too:
Doctors who are atheist or agnostic are twice as likely to take decisions that might shorten the life of somebody who is terminally ill as doctors who are deeply religious – and doctors with strong religious convictions are less likely even to discuss such decisions with the patient, according to Professor Clive Seale, from the centre for health sciences at Barts and the London school of medicine and dentistry.
"If I were a patient facing end of life care, I would want to know what my doctor's views were on religious matters – whether they are non-religious or religious and whether the doctor felt that would influence them in the kinds of decisions they were looking at," said Seale.
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Jul '10
Re: Testing your doctor's religious views
I can make my own decisions when the time comes.
I'm more concerned with pediatricians who ask children if Daddy has a gun at home or if he smokes in the house.
Re: Testing your doctor's religious views
It's funny you bring up pediatricians. My daughters go to a group practice and some of the doctors there are laughably bad. This is perhaps too much information but one of the pediatricians suggested that I was harming my youngest by nursing her for "only" 13 months. The child in question is in the 90+% for height and weight and clearly not lacking for food. I "debated" her for a bit before realizing the whole thing was ridiculous.
Re: Testing your doctor's religious views
From the moment we found out that our baby would have Down syndrome (at 17 weeks pregnant), my husband and I experienced the entire range of responses from people in the medical field. Really, the ENTIRE range! When I think about it, the three people who were MOST understanding of our feelings/decision were, respectively, Protestant, Jewish, and Catholic (all moderately active in their faiths). I don't know the religious feelings of the many other technicians, nurses, doctors, specialists, etc. whom we encountered. My husband and I had a theory. We felt the doctors who spent most of their time with patients/babies in life-death situations were the most understanding of our decision to choose life. Those who spent the most time with blood tests, ultrasound results -- e.g. paperwork/graphs/percentages -- were least understanding. Therefore, my experienced OB was very understanding. Our busy NYC pediatrician, who saw probably 50-60 kids a day, was perhaps most understanding. A heart surgeon/specialist, also extraordinarily understanding. However, the head of the hospital's prenatal (pregnancy) testing center? Not so much. The ultrasound technicians? Not so much. Never really considered religion until now. Thanks for sharing the study, Mollie!
May '10
Re: Testing your doctor's religious views
It's also wise to get to know relevant employees of a nursing home well before committing a relative there. Euthanasia occurs even in states where it is illegal. In fact, when law is not involved, the family doesn't need to be consulted. A classmate in college once told me such a story involving her work in a San Antonio facility.
Jun '10
Re: Testing your doctor's religious views
We made sure my wife's Ob/Gyn was fully on board with Natural Family Planning. In fact, their clinic is entirely pro-life and does not distribute contraception at all. When they first opened, they were afraid they wouldn't have enough patients. Now, both MD's are booked 3 months in advance. There is a HUGE demand for authentic healthcare that adheres to the simple maxim of 'doing no harm'. They are hard to find, but they are out there. The important thing is to ask questions and not to support with your dollars and time the doctors that do harm, for unfortunately, they are easy to find.
Our doctor prayed with us as well when our daughter's delivery wasn't going... according to plan. Before our daughter was born, we just went ahead and skipped a lot of the pre-birth tests that screen for Down's and other so called disorders. We know of people who were pressured to abort their baby when they found out she might have Down's. For us, we know we'd love our daughter and that's all we needed to know.