From what I've read, it hasn't been easy . He and his wife Nancy went through nearly a dozen doctors before they found one to help them when they were seeking to become pregnant with their first child. Beatie told Oprah that doctors refused him treatment, citing "religious beliefs" (which I find an immense laugh) and that they felt uncomfortable about the whole thing. That's understandable, but it's not really your job to let personal beliefs and preferences get in the way of treating a patient, who, coincidentally, is a human being, regardless of gender.
So, does that mean it's okay for a pregnant woman to decline interventions based on religious reasons? Something tells me you can try, but it will be very difficult. My guess is they would see it as 'child abuse' (even though it might be hard to prove, i.e. the Laura Pemberton case) and you would be forced to comply.
During his first pregnancy, Beatie said:
So the doctor basically took his money and then decided he didn't want to treat his patient anymore. I wonder, did he give Beatie a refund for wasting his time?
“A few months and a couple thousand dollars later, he told us that he would no longer treat us, saying he and his staff felt uncomfortable working with ‘someone like me,’” he wrote. Beatie added that he and his wife’s situation “sparks legal, political and social unknowns.”
He continues that one doctor referred them to a psychologist to see if they were 'fit to bring a child into the world.' (Do they routinely do the same for drug-addicted mothers, or parents who obviously should not be bringing a new life into the world?) Beatie says they were refused insemination treatment by nine physicians, and that 'receptionists laughed at them.' From the experiences I've had with some of them, I can assure Thomas that it's not just him - some of them are always that rude to everyone.
Despite the reluctance from so many doctors to treat him first as a human being, and secondly, as a patient, he found one who would. Dr. Kimberly James told Oprah that the baby was totally healthy and it was a "normal pregnancy."
2 comments:
they do refer drug-addict mothers-it's called Child Protective Services. And oh my God! She's not a man!
Calling CPS on someone is not the same thing as referring them for psychiatric treatment because you are calling their fitness as a parent into question; I've heard from several women whose OBs make NO mention whatsoever of past or current substance abuse problems, BTW so I don't think this is a given.
And with all due respect to Thomas Beatie, "he" prefers to be called as such legally and socially, but I'm sure his doctors need to consider him a "woman" in this situation, for obvious reasons. Man or woman, though, Thomas is still a person, regardless of what you think of him/her.
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