Physicians refusing to prescribe birth control - Page 5

[Aura_Kitten]

NYC, i'm not sure i followed you...

do you mean, why does your bc label say that the pills may prevent implantation of a fertilized egg if it isn't true?

[lilyka]

NYC- because it is true. The BC manufactuers don't hide this. It is simply how thier product works. This is no mystery. I learned this, and that there were a handful of Dr. and pharmacies that refused to participate in the bc industry 10 years ago when I became sexually active and were examining my choices for my reproductive self (went with NFP).

Ihad a hard time finding a Dr. to treat me for my low thyroid. No big I found anouther. Yes I had ot pay for it out of pocket but my heath is worth it. I couldn't find a Dr. who would take the libility of clipping dd tounge (they thought there was a better way) so I found someone who would. I had to pay out of pocket because medicaid wouldn't cover an elective procedure but her health was worth it. it was those Dr.s right to stick to thier guns and do what they thought was best. I respect them for it but they are no longer my Dr.s because I needed someone who would meet me where they were at.

When I needed my thyroid perscription filled I demanded a certain type of medication. Not what is usually perscribed. I live in a town of 200,000 people we have over 100 pharmacies and no one carried it so I had to have it shipped in. it was thier right not to carry it. I don't know why they would, no one in town perscribes it. (target now orders it in for me and matchs my last price. Ilove them) Was it a hassle to have it shipped in? you bet. Did I want it bad enough to faithfully have it shipped in every month? You bet!! It was hassle but I wasnted the drug bad enough. Perscriptions are easy to get.

Pharmacies are privately owned businesses and they have a right to carry or not carry whatever they want just like any other retail business. I suppose it would be unethical to say " we have this but we aren't giving it to you" but I don't think it would be unethical to say "we do not carry that, you will have to check another pharmacy." Happens all the time here. My thyroid stuff, my friends dhs chemo pills (only one pharmacy carried them). You can't be all things to all people and if you can live with people being ticked off and taking htier business elsewhere then that is up to the owner of the business. If someone doesn't carry or perscribe what you are looking for then GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! You wouldn't sit at the gap and cry because they didn't carry the jeans you wanted and you cuoldn't insist that they start carrying them. Nor would you probably think twice about it. You would just take your business elsewhere. Same with Dr.s and pharmacies. If they don't provide the services you want take your business elsewhere. I don't see what the big deal is really. And I consider Dr.s in private practice to be business owners. If you think Dr.s are some kind of angles of mercy doing it for the warm fuzzies they get wake up and smell the coffee.. they are running business and are offering specific services. There is a growing number of Gynos who won't deliver babies. Now that is a problem. You shouldn't have any ttrouble finding one who will prescribe a pill. And it is good business practice to not prescribe this stuff or sell it. I would prefer someone who refused and I know there is are a lot of other people who seek out these Dr.s (see it all balances out). Enough people to constitute a nationwide directory of who does and doesn't. i do think these Dr.s should be up front so that someone doesn't go through an appointment onl;y to find out that the discussion on BC options is a short one.

If your insurance company only lets you see a Dr. who won' prescribe birth control find another insurance company or try going without. it is very freeing we have been without for most of our 10 years of marraige and are none the worse for it. I am not going to pay anyone that amount of money and have them tell me I can't see a good Dr. and when we were insured I still payed out of pocket for anytyhing they didn't cover. I guess it is thier right as business owners tonot cover whatever so long as it is clearly stated when you buy the product. And health insurance is just that product. don't be surprised when they don't cover things they said they wouldn't cover. Check out the Dr.s before you sign on. Make sure there is one you like.

All this to say I don't see what the big deal is. If you want to pay someone make sure you like them. if you don't then don't buy thier services. : easy enough. Fertility is not a medical problem. Dr. don't have to treat it.pharmacies don't have to sell anything they don't want to sell. You are free to go somewhere else. Heck you can find a Dr. to prescribe and a pharmacy to fill just about anything on the internet.

[chicagomom]

I think what happens w/bcp and iuds is the mfrs play way, WAY down the fact that we're potentially talking about fertilized eggs here. I think many women really don't know that. Of course, the makers of Norplant aren't going to emphasize that when they do their cheery couples-oriented commercials. Bad for sales!

Re pharmacists and drs, I guess again many women just assume this stuff will be available because it is legal. This is one way the pro-life groups have been very successful - eroding away availability for these things even though they remain legal.

[MissinNYC]

klothos- yeah, that's what I meant. I see a lot of women saying in this thread that it's not proven. I admit I don't know much about it, but I wouldn't think the manufacturers would admit it in the packaging if it weren't true. Right?

[*Erin*]

run by posting, i skimmed everyone's responses, and i wanted to jump in and say,you know, i can *almost*understand if a doctor isnt willing to preform abortions, but for a pharmicist, whose job it is to dispense medications, refuses on moral grounds, which are oh so subjective, to dispense medicine that is legal and safe..that's very frightening to me. and dangerous. i think they should not be in pharmacy if they take that much of an issue with bc pills. i also think that if an obgyn isnt willing to learn how to preform abortions, they're not in the right field of medicine. abortion is a legal, surgical procedure.
what's the quote, if men could get pregnant abortion would be a sacrament?
it really lights my fire when men try and exert control (or even voice their opinions, in their professional life) over women's reproductive choices, and women's bodies.

[cappuccinosmom]

Ahem,
I would just like to point out that it is not only evil men who refuse to perscribe bcp's, IUD's, or do abortions. My mom is most definately female, definately not quite recovered from youthful feminism , and definately will not perscribe any bc that has a potential abortifacient effect, or do any abortions.

I, also, am female (but not an MD!), and I agree with her. Among the Couple to Couple league doctors that they have met, it's pretty much evenly divided among men and women, all who will not perscribe bc and promote NFP or FAM instead.

[Aura_Kitten]

all who will not perscribe bc and promote NFP or FAM instead.

yeah, cuz everyone knows NFP helps control endometriosis...

[lilyka]

I was going to say. I am a woman and I feel 10 times more strongly about this than my dh does. It isn't him evicting the fertilized eggs. It is me. it is my guilt I can't live with. And I can imagine there are just as many female Dr. and pharmasist who are on board as there are men.

and again, pharmacies are private businesses that should be aloowed to sell or not sell what ever they want so long as they aren't discriminating against individuals by saying one person is worthy of this but someone else is not.

And I think there are a lot of people missing the point that there is a need for Dr.s, OBGYNs who will not prefrm abortions. I would not go to someone who did. Then I would be left without medical care. There are plenty of Dr.s for everyone. Let those of us who prefer prolife Dr.s to have them while those of you prefer they weren't can go to the vast magority of Dr.s who aren't.

[cappuccinosmom]

Good point, lilyka! I would not go to a doctor who would perform abortions. One of the (many, many) reasons I do not wish to go back to the local ob/gyn for my next pregnancy has to do with birth control. I (a woman!!!!) *do not want it*, for moral and aesthetic reasons. I do not appreciate being looked on as either a nutcase or a poor oppressed female, and thus I want a doctor caring for me who understands, agrees with, and supports my dh and I in our beliefs on this. Doctors like that are very difficult to find. We are blessed that we know two of them very well.

[Aura_Kitten]

you know, this whole issue touches on another topic that's been the subject of discussion in some other threads around here lately ~ why are women giving up their rights and choices just to follow their doctor's orders? why is ANYONE doing this? don't we as patients have the final say in our health care? shouldn't we?

if you don't want an abortion, don't have one. but don't limit others' access to them.

similarly, if you personally object to birth control pills, don't take them.

if you don't believe in vaccinations, you have a right ~ or should have a right ~ not to vaccinate.

if you don't want to circumcise your child, leave them intact.

ultimately, health care providers should provide equal access to all care regardless of their own personal beliefs; if they have a moral objection to an integral part of health care, they should stop doing what they do and find another job.

and we as patients should have the right to choose our own care, and have access to it regardless of what the health care providers believe in. we have the right to make informed choices. our doctors and pharmacists have an obligation to their patients to provide them with accurate, scientifically sound information, and to allow them the basic freedom of making the final choice about their own health care.

someone here said that if pharmacists and doctors are limiting access to contraceptives, and the contraceptives are not available to the general public, then there is an imbalance of power ~ this is completely true. nobody in a place of power should be allowed to exercise their personal ~ moral, ethical ~ beliefs to restrict others' legal choices.

[Mamid]

One of the reasons why I'm pregnant is because the only hospital near me that has OB/GYN services - hell, it is the only hospital - is a very catholic one and they have such a strong anti-abortion policy that you can't even get your baby sexed on an ultrasound.

I had to travel an hour to get an ultrasound that might have given my Bun's sex, but she didn't moon the camera - although I think the tech saw...

Anyway, if I had wanted an abortion, even if it was medically required, I would have had to travel at least an hour to get one. As it was, when I miscarried, I was given bad looks by the tech when I mentioned it. As if I had committed some sort of sin for daring to miscarry naturally.

And BC for me is a non-issue. It took over 5 almost 6 years that DP and I had been having sex for us to get pregnant naturally. DS doesn't count cause he's a clomid baby. But Bun and that miscarriage that happened on CD5 of the same cycle I got pregnant with Bun on were our only for sure natural conceptions.

that and DP is planning on using "raincoats" as he calls them. :

[TiredX2]

I believe the following:

No doctor should be forced to perform proceedures/write perscriptions that they are morally opposed to. That said, I believe they should be UP FRONT about this and not take appointments if they do not perform common services in their field.

Pharmacies, IMO, should have the right to carry or not specific prescriptions. Individual pharmacists, though, should dispense the drugs that store carries unless there is another individual available AT ALL TIMES to do so.

If, for moral reasons, a practitioner is going to refuse covered services (specifically for medicaid) I do not think they should be a preferred provider. Since you are sometimes "assigned" a doctor, that would make some people unable to get standard medical treatment, which, IMO, should be illegal.

JMO

[Mamid]

IMO, if the pharmacy refuses to carry BC, then they should also not carry drugs for "Erectile dysfunction." If they do, then it could be considered sexist at the least. And isn't sexism against the US laws?

[TiredX2]

With the matter of birth control & the pharmacy, my major issue is that BCP are often used to treat other problems (in fact, some women cannot GET pg without being on bcp).

With erectile disfunction, that is the body working "wrongly." Trying to prevent pg is actually working against the natural body working. But that arguement goes out the door if the BCP is for other reasons. And I definately don't support individuals having to explain to the pharmacist exactly why they want a specific medication.

[BoobyJuice]

No doctor should be forced to perform proceedures/write perscriptions that they are morally opposed to. That said, I believe they should be UP FRONT about this and not take appointments if they do not perform common services in their field.

Pharmacies, IMO, should have the right to carry or not specific prescriptions. Individual pharmacists, though, should dispense the drugs that store carries unless there is another individual available AT ALL TIMES to do so.

TiredX2, that's exactly what I was trying to say . . . only I, umm, ahh, rambled, and ahhh, didn't do it quite so well.

[cappuccinosmom]

So who here has actually found a doctor that "hid" the fact that they don't perscribe bc?? If they don't take out a full-page ad in the paper to warn the community of thier dangerous anti-bc beliefs, is that hiding?

It should be fairly simple to find out. If they don't perscribe it, the first time it comes up they'll let you know, and give you a referral. Most practices have more than one doctor. It would simply be a matter of going to a different office within the same building.

It would be kind of stupid of them to hide it anyway. For what reason would they???

[Victorian]

IMO they should tell women WHEN THEY APPOINTMENT is made. For instance "I have you down for monday at 10:00. For your information, Dr. Smith does not prescripe birth control. If you need these services, I can make you an appointment for Dr. Jones instead".

Why should a women have to see a doctor just to be told "sorry, your request is evil"

Victorian

[3 little birds]

TiredX2-Very eloquent. I agree.

I also agree that the Dr.s office should let a potential patient know that the Dr. will not prescribe certain types of bc before an appt. is made. It seems a little underhanded to wait until the patient has paid for the visit and is sitting in the office to do so.

[lilyka]

ANy Dr. I ahve ever known who wouldn't prescribe birth control proclaimed it from the Mt. tops. It was why people came to them.

[JessicaS]

And why some women won't. I wouldn't see a Dr that refused certain care for women.

Birth control is used for more than just preventing pregnancy and any Dr that refused to prescribe bc for women who needed it is putting their own opinion over the health needs of their patients and I find that wrong.