Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Relying on prayer, prosecuting the parents
Orac: "That is why I am heartened to see the Neumanns prosecuted, even though it may well be an uphill battle to obtain a conviction. So great is our deference to religion in this country that I am not at all confident that the Neumanns won't get off scot-free and even ultimately regain custody of their other children to have another chance to do it again."
Posted by Kevin |
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Comments:
They relied on prayer to heal their daughter, but didn't trust God to get them through these criminal charges - they hired a lawyer for that.
I am a doctor and so have a dog in this hunt. But lets try to be a little bit objective here. Do we really want the government to force people to use our services? Don't we want voluntary patients? Is it the end of the world is people live and die without using our services? They are going to live and die if they do use them also--mortality rate is still 100%. Isn't freedom worth something? Doesn't every white cross in every national cemetary remind us that it is, at least to some, worth more than life itself.
And most important of all--if we are to criminalize the refusal of parents to take their child to a doctor resulting in the childs death--shouldn't we criminalize misjudgements by doctors that result in a childs death just the same. Even more so because in the case of the parents there is a reasonable presumption that they at least thought that they had the child's best interest at heart. In the doctors case mental laziness and just not caring enough to really apply themselves is the more common cause.
Do white coats come with prison stripes?
And most important of all--if we are to criminalize the refusal of parents to take their child to a doctor resulting in the childs death--shouldn't we criminalize misjudgements by doctors that result in a childs death just the same. Even more so because in the case of the parents there is a reasonable presumption that they at least thought that they had the child's best interest at heart. In the doctors case mental laziness and just not caring enough to really apply themselves is the more common cause.
Do white coats come with prison stripes?
# posted by 
: 9:39 PM
: 9:39 PM
anon 9:39 - i HIGHLY doubt that you're a doctor, by your ridiculous argument:
First, children CANNOT make informed decisions, so they are not "voluntary" patients either way, and must be protected to the best of our ability by society, and not just their parents. That's why car seats & vaccines, for example, are generally mandatory.
Second, misjudgments by doctors happen all the time, sometimes even leading to death. Your comparing that to parents who choose not to bring their sick kid to the hospital is completely off track. Doctors & hospitals do what they can to save someone, and it doesn't always work. This doesn't mean you stick them in jail!
For better or worse (i think better) our society places greater responsibility & protection on the healthcare establishment than on parents in cases like these, and rightfully so, due to the obvious assymetry of information.
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First, children CANNOT make informed decisions, so they are not "voluntary" patients either way, and must be protected to the best of our ability by society, and not just their parents. That's why car seats & vaccines, for example, are generally mandatory.
Second, misjudgments by doctors happen all the time, sometimes even leading to death. Your comparing that to parents who choose not to bring their sick kid to the hospital is completely off track. Doctors & hospitals do what they can to save someone, and it doesn't always work. This doesn't mean you stick them in jail!
For better or worse (i think better) our society places greater responsibility & protection on the healthcare establishment than on parents in cases like these, and rightfully so, due to the obvious assymetry of information.
