T-YOU Question of the Week Doctors, Don’t Forget Oath: Do No Harm

President Bush said recently that Iran is contributing to American deaths in Iraq, including providing the technology and supplies for roadside bombs. What should the U.S. do about Iran? Invade, use diplomatic effort or something else?HOW TO COMMENTThere are several ways to respond to our Insight question. Call (904) 366- 6236 and leave a message, or go to Jacksonville.com, keywords: Your Insight. You also can mail items to Your Insight, the Florida Times- Union, P.O. Box 1949, Jacksonville, FL 32231; or drop them off at the Times-Union at 1 Riverside Ave. Selected responses will be printed in future editions of Insight or on Jacksonville.com.YOUR COMMENTSLast week’s question: A survey by the University of Chicago this week found that a number of doctors do not feel obligated to tell patients about medical options they oppose morally, such as abortion and teen birth control, and believe they have no duty to refer people elsewhere for such treatments.

The doctor’s oath, I believe, starts with something like “First, do no harm.” All reasonable medical options should be presented to patients by the doctors who treat them. If moral opposition enters into it, the doctor is in the wrong line of work. Not presenting these options is, indeed, doing harm to the patient.

Susan Ivey

Medical doctors make critical vows to help maintain lives when taking the Hippocratic oath. Therefore, they should not be required to tell patients about abortion or RU-486 procedures and prescriptions. The Hippocratic oath doctors have taken specifically include promises that they will do all they can to help save lives. Consequently, it would be wrong to renege on such vows by telling patients about abortion or by making abortion referrals – because such pursuits will accommodate the taking of lives, rather than preserving them.

George Harvey Jr., Mount Charity Missionary Baptist Church

As long as the news media is allowed to impose their moral opinions and beliefs on us while reporting the news with their own slanted version, doctors should have the same right to act on their own moral opinions. The news media never gives alternative sides to a story.

Jim Taylor, Jacksonville

Doctors take an oath. It has to do with helping and healing their patients. It has nothing to do with their personal religious beliefs. Doctors who are against birth control are living on another planet. … If birth control measures were used by teens, there would be less need for abortions and there would be a minimizing of the spread of STDs. Whether or not we agree with it, sexual activity happens: outside of marriage; among teens and even preteens; kids from intact families, single-parent families, religious families, non-religious families. If a physician refuses to come down to earth and recognize reality, he or she should in all good conscience discuss all options with the patient and recommend a more appropriate physician. Thank goodness for Planned Parenthood, where all options are presented, discussed and supported.

Jacqueline Witte

A doctor who withholds any treatment or procedure that might help a patient, for whatever reason, is breaking the oath he took to care for the sick and infirm. The Hippocratic oath has the following line: I will follow that method of treatment which according to my ability and judgment I consider for the benefit of my patient and abstain from whatever is deleterious … That last 11-letter word means harmful in a subtle way. That certainly describes the thinking and the actions of any doctor who would withhold information that might help because he might be morally opposed to another option for the patient.

Joseph McLaughlin, Orange Park

I think “full disclosure” should be imposed on doctors whose beliefs get in the way of offering their patients all available medical treatments. Doctors must be required to discuss all options, and explain why they can’t provide certain services.

It is not lost on me that only women need the controversial treatments (birth control, the morning-after pill). Women can decide for themselves to accept a treatment or not, but to withhold the medical information should be made criminal.

Cary Herold

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