Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Physicians and patients are now pawns in a political game

Nicole M. King, MD
Policy
July 11, 2022
96 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

This morning I had a migraine. I should have known it was coming. I now have complex migraines and was having word-finding difficulty yesterday, which is a harbinger for me. How could I have known that my soul had known before my mind had, that it had known we were about to rip away a standing protection for half of the U.S. population and dress it up as a state’s right 24 hours after taking the right of states to control concealed weapons away because it violated federal law. The circular argument was enough to explain my migraine and my suffocating sense of doom.

As I moved through the wave of emotions that so many of us have today, I kept landing on one unrelenting concept: control. Knowing that this was in no way about life. It was about a fundamental right being pulled away so that other rights allowing anyone other than cis heterosexual white men to succeed could be dismantled. Control. Power. Privilege.

This brought me to the recognition that those of us in medicine have willingly complied with much of this destruction. Giving money and support to organizations that have been silent in the face of ongoing attempts to take our rights away as sovereign individuals. Knowing that to do our job and maintain our credentials, we all but had to “support” or “give” a fee to these organizations despite not agreeing with their politics or their positions as it related to socioeconomic concerns.

Though I am just as guilty as the next person, my thoughts wandered to those who felt medicine was their calling despite their staunch pro-life opinions and morals. I wondered how many of them understood what happens to a woman’s body while pregnant if she has known peripartum cardiomyopathy or unknown severe pulmonary hypertension. Do they know how to take care of that patient? Do they understand how to prevent killing her and her fetus if she was to be in distress? Would they be willing to induce labor to save the mother’s life even if the fetus was not viable? Would they risk that decision now that it is potentially illegal? Or would they willingly sacrifice likely the mother and the child for their self-righteous and now legally binding commitment to being “pro-life?”

I’ve always recoiled and almost smirked when physicians deny the need to be “political” in our job. Nothing about our job is free of legal jargon and legal ramifications. Everything we do is political. We are constrained within our occupation by our license, credentials, and the state in which we live. If there is a law regarding our job, then it, by virtue of touching the judicial system, is political. Politics dictate our civic duty as physicians. These are facts. This means if you are a “pro-life” physician in a red state, you now have the right to figure out how to save a woman’s life when she needs to be rescued from the state you allowed her to be forced into through your pious privileged position.

Never mind how this slope slips ever closer to full control of a person’s body while pregnant. What happens if you “work too much” and go into premature labor? What if you drink too much caffeine or something that is “bad” during pregnancy and you have a miscarriage? Will there be an investigation? Will we be relegated back to a time when being pregnant meant we could no longer hold jobs or work out or do what we wanted as human beings who are the ones growing the fetus inside our bodies? Who gets to decide that? What about all the physicians who are women of childbearing age? Will they be prosecuted for pregnancy complications because they “choose” to have a demanding career?

What we have left at the end of all of these questions is the one glaring concept, control. If a woman cannot procreate on her terms and is potentially questioned or maligned for things that may happen while pregnant, then women have to consider more closely if and when they get pregnant. This means they are forced to choose between work and potential pregnancy. This means we have forfeited control of our lives over to those who are not capable of becoming pregnant. And are dependent on our employer or partner’s permission on how and when we procreate. As if we are owned. As if we are property. As if the uterus we contain is both an assault on our freedom and a ticket to control us by those already in power. Physicians and patients are now pawns in a game so many were willing to play.

Those physicians, specifically women physicians, who thought this was only about a choice were dead wrong. They, too, are now controlled just as much as the next person with a uterus. And their education and privilege will not protect them from the demise of their career or their lives.

Nicole M. King is an anesthesiologist and intensivist.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

An example of medical-legal consulting [PODCAST]

July 10, 2022 Kevin 0
…
Next

Roe v. Wade: Share our experience and be part of the solution

July 11, 2022 Kevin 4
…

Tagged as: OB/GYN

Post navigation

< Previous Post
An example of medical-legal consulting [PODCAST]
Next Post >
Roe v. Wade: Share our experience and be part of the solution

More by Nicole M. King, MD

  • Working in medicine isn’t an all-or-nothing situation

    Nicole M. King, MD
  • Raising the white flag isn’t about surrendering to a broken system

    Nicole M. King, MD
  • We have been forced into a mass casualty scenario

    Nicole M. King, MD

Related Posts

  • Are patients using social media to attack physicians?

    David R. Stukus, MD
  • Physicians who don’t play the social media game may be left behind

    Xrayvsn, MD
  • The complex expectations of patients toward their physicians

    Michael L. Millenson
  • We need physicians who advocate for patients’ best interests

    Daniel Low, MD
  • Physicians and patients must work together to improve health care

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • The risk physicians take when going on social media

    Anonymous

More in Policy

  • The realities of immigrant health care served hot from America’s melting pot

    Stella Cho
  • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

    Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN
  • Deaths of despair: an urgent call for a collective response to the crisis in U.S. life expectancy

    Mohammed Umer Waris, MD
  • Breaking down the barriers to effective bar-code medication administration

    Amy Dang Craft
  • The locums industry has a beef problem

    Aaron Morgenstein, MD
  • Canada’s health workers are sounding the alarm. We must act, now.

    Ivy Lynn Bourgeault, PhD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

      Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN | Policy
    • The struggle to fill emergency medicine residency spots: Exploring the factors behind the unfilled match

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Physician
    • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

      Edward T. Creagan, MD | Physician
    • Deaths of despair: an urgent call for a collective response to the crisis in U.S. life expectancy

      Mohammed Umer Waris, MD | Policy
    • Beyond the disease: the power of empathy in health care

      Nana Dadzie Ghansah, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The harmful effects of shaming patients for self-education

      Maryanna Barrett, MD | Physician
    • The power of self-appreciation: Why physicians need to start acknowledging their own contributions

      Wendy Schofer, MD | Physician
    • The endless waves of chronic illness

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • Skydiving and surgery: How one doctor translates high-stress training to saving lives

      Alexandra Kharazi, MD | Physician
    • Telemedicine in the opioid crisis: a game-changer threatened by DEA regulations

      Julie Craig, MD | Meds
    • How this doctor found her passion in ballroom dancing [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 5 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Abortion Is Not Murder in the Eyes of the Law
  • Introducing Allergenic Foods Early Tied to a Reduction in Later Allergies
  • Isotretinoin REMS Still Needed, But Its Burden Could Be Reduced, FDA Staff Says
  • Children Do Well With Fewer Opiates After Surgery
  • High Out-of-Pocket Costs Tied to Less Follow-Up After Initial Mammography

Meeting Coverage

  • Children Do Well With Fewer Opiates After Surgery
  • Advances in Diagnosis and Management of Severe Cutaneous Adverse Reactions
  • Orismilast Clears Skin in Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis
  • New Combinations Promising in Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma
  • No Survival Benefit With CRT Versus Chemo for Locally Advanced Endometrial Cancer
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

      Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN | Policy
    • The struggle to fill emergency medicine residency spots: Exploring the factors behind the unfilled match

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Physician
    • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

      Edward T. Creagan, MD | Physician
    • Deaths of despair: an urgent call for a collective response to the crisis in U.S. life expectancy

      Mohammed Umer Waris, MD | Policy
    • Beyond the disease: the power of empathy in health care

      Nana Dadzie Ghansah, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The hidden dangers of the Nebraska Heartbeat Act

      Meghan Sheehan, MD | Policy
    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The harmful effects of shaming patients for self-education

      Maryanna Barrett, MD | Physician
    • The power of self-appreciation: Why physicians need to start acknowledging their own contributions

      Wendy Schofer, MD | Physician
    • The endless waves of chronic illness

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • Skydiving and surgery: How one doctor translates high-stress training to saving lives

      Alexandra Kharazi, MD | Physician
    • Telemedicine in the opioid crisis: a game-changer threatened by DEA regulations

      Julie Craig, MD | Meds
    • How this doctor found her passion in ballroom dancing [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today iMedicalApps
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Physicians and patients are now pawns in a political game
5 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...