Peer Response 3

When responding to peers, you should strive to first understand the reasons they are offering before challenging or critiquing those reasons. One good way of doing this is by summarizing their argument before offering a critique or evaluation.

In your response post to your fellow student, try to articulate an opposing position on the ethical issue and consider how someone who held that opposing position might do so because he or she holds different virtues or values.

PEERS RESPONSE:

The main Ethical question and consideration is if it is morally correct to refuse medical care for the LGBTQ+ community. This article talks about two women who visited a pediatrician while still doing prenatal appointments. The doctor seemed fine with taking the child onto her caseload, but when it came to the first appointment, the couple was met by a different talk and told the doctor they carefully chose would not be willing to help them. The doctors reasoning was that she had prayed on it and decided it wasn’t in the best interest of anyone for her take the child on to her caseload.

So, we are left to consider if it is ethical that the doctor refused care because of her own religious beliefs. While it is not illegal in Michigan for the doctor to refuse care, it could be considered morally and ethically wrong. I think this one is tricky because it is wrong to refuse service to someone based on things like race, religion, sexual orientation, or sexual preference, in many places this is illegal. However, I do believe that is also morally and ethically wrong for a doctor to take someone onto their case load KNOWING they will not be giving that patient the same type of care they would for others.

I have never been in this situation, nor would this situation apply to me, so I don’t know how the parents feel. I do feel like it would be very hard to be told that the doctor they very carefully chose did not want to care for their child because of their sexual orientation. It would make it hard to trust other doctors in the future.

I personally believe the doctor made the right choice, but she had a poor follow through and poor communication. I think if the doctor would have been more personable and offered recommendations for a new pediatrician instead of just sending a new one in without any communication.

I think if you apply the utilitarian theory, it would be trying to find the most happiness for everyone and create the least amount of suffering. While I think “suffering” would occur in the beginning for the couple, I think the long-term outcome would cause the most joy for everyone because they doctor does not have to go against her personal beliefs and the family will be able to find a high-quality doctor for their daughter.

-Carolyn

References:

Thames, B. (2018). How should one live? An introduction to ethics and moral reasoning (3rd ed.). Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu (Links to an external site.)

Abby Phillip Feb. 19, 2015 Pediatrician refuses to treat baby with lesbian parents and there’s nothing illegal about it retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/02/19/pediatrician-refuses-to-treat-baby-with-lesbian-parents-and-theres-nothing-illegal-about-it/?noredirect=on (Links to an external site.)