Doctor refuses to treat lesbians' baby.

[tabitha2]

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/m ... /23629689/

[Delilah]

The doctor's handwritten note was difficult to read, but I think it says that the child can be seen at that office, just with a different doctor. The doc seemed very apologetic.

The pediatric practices I've seen have 2 or more doctors who cover for each other on their days off. Would the pediatrician be comfortable seeing the baby when the other doctor is off?

I think it's time for me to get reading glasses.

edit - I just figured out how to make the doc's letter bigger. It doesn't mention the parents being lesbian as the reason for opting out. Did the parents just assume that?

[RosyDaisy]

Refusing to treat a baby? WTF? I see this goin the way off Hobby Lobby with the "sincerely held beliefs" clause. Fuck these homophobes!

[DGayle]

The letter is littered with apologies, but that doesn't change that the tone is because the women used their "free will" to be in a relationship, this doctor refused to see the baby. It's true that the women deserve a doctor who is willing to develop a relationship with a family, but it's really shitty that this doctor will shun a baby because of the sex of the parents.

[whoviana]

What about the Hippocratic Oath they swear upon once they became a doctor? If he lacks a heart, a brain and a conscience, what about the things he swore he'd do for people as a doctor?

[morri]

Pretty sure it is illegal here. Dunno about the United states but here is illegal to discriminate because of a persons sexuality

[FloraKitty35]

I would understand if the Mothers sued, however Michigan has no anti-discrimination law for LGBT discrimination.

[morri]

Here it is part of the third article http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/engli ... ch_gg.html

[Jana814]

Refusing to treat a baby? WTF? I see this goin the way off Hobby Lobby with the "sincerely held beliefs" clause. Fuck these homophobes!

Agree!

[browncoatslytherin]

i would hope if this doc happens to be the only doc available in an emergency room that she would do her job. er's legally can't refuse patients, that's part of the regulations for being able to designate themselves as an emergency room. i guess she better thank her lucky stars she got into a private practice where she could exercise her discrimination...otherwise she might be forced to touch and treat a gayby :pink-shock:

[ILoveJellybeans]

Seriously? If you are a doctor, you should work with anyone who needs healthcare, nomatter who they are, and treat them all the same. That is what doctors do. Whether they are old or young, gay or straight, black or white, whether they are someone who was in a car accident or someone who ended up in hospital because they jumped out of a window trying to fly while high. Everyone deserves the same level of healthcare, which is for the doctor to do their best to ensure they are healthy.

[browncoatslytherin]

Seriously? If you are a doctor, you should work with anyone who needs healthcare, nomatter who they are, and treat them all the same. That is what doctors do. Whether they are old or young, gay or straight, black or white, whether they are someone who was in a car accident or someone who ended up in hospital because they jumped out of a window trying to fly while high. Everyone deserves the same level of healthcare, which is for the doctor to do their best to ensure they are healthy.

agreed with the above, but the current healthcare field is...complicated, to say the least.

er's, for example, have to meet certain qualification in order to get that title of emergency room. they must be open 24/7 and accept and treat everyone, regardless of race or sexual orientation or insurance status or ability to pay or what have you. basically, you walk through the door, you'll get treated (in some places, it may be a while, but it'll happen).

private practices are allowed to make more stringent patient policies. obviously, insurance billing is a big thing (not every doctor will accept every insurance, for various and a sundry reasons). if a doctor won't accept a certain insurance that a patient has, the doctor may either refuse to see the patient or may see them on a self-pay basis. if a bill isn't paid, or the patient no-shows (or keeps canceling shortly before the appointment) a certain number of times, or is non-compliant on their treatment, or becomes abusive toward the doctor or staff, they can refuse to see a patient and refer them elsewhere. there's a lot more leeway for doctors to shape a private practice into what they want, much like any other business (because it is a business, let's not fool ourselves about that; ideology aside, that's what it is).

[polecat]

Seriously? If you are a doctor, you should work with anyone who needs healthcare, nomatter who they are, and treat them all the same. That is what doctors do. Whether they are old or young, gay or straight, black or white, whether they are someone who was in a car accident or someone who ended up in hospital because they jumped out of a window trying to fly while high. Everyone deserves the same level of healthcare, which is for the doctor to do their best to ensure they are healthy.

Actually, no, doctors do not do this. Quite a few pediatricians have recently been opting out of treating patients who have not been vaccinated according to recommendations -- they just refuse to have them in their offices at all. Now, that's obviously a different situation than this one, but the fact is that doctors pick and choose who they treat all the time.

As to this particular story, I can't imagine what the moms' orientation has to do with the baby needing medical care. How on earth has this woman been a pediatrician for any amount of time without having other gay/lesbian parents or patients?!

[nomoxian]

What about the Hippocratic Oath they swear upon once they became a doctor? If he lacks a heart, a brain and a conscience, what about the things he swore he'd do for people as a doctor?

The thing is, a lot of these bigots don't see LGBT people as being *people*

[NotALoserLikeYou]

So does he not treat the children of single mothers? Unmarried couples? Married couples where the dad had an affair? How is he policing everyone's morailty?

[ViolaSebastian]

Pretty sure it is illegal here. Dunno about the United states but here is illegal to discriminate because of a persons sexuality

Unfortunately, in Michigan, it's legal to discriminate on the basis of a person's sexuality. That's one of the reasons that the couple went public with this--to point out how absurd that is.

[FundieWatcher]

They didn't just assume it.http://m.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/19/ ... l=facebook

Good point about treating other "sinners". Stay away from this doctor.

[16strong]

Based on all of the bakeries and florists that have recently gone to court and been ordered to serve everyone, or nobody at all, I imagine this wouldn't hold up in court (at least I hope). However, I see a lot of people saying "just suck it up and find another doctor and stop whining about it!" This makes me so angry.

[browncoatslytherin]

the more i think about it, the more things don't add up in the doctor's letter.

the doctor wrote the letter to personally apologize (allegedly, that is...coulda just done it when they were there, but whatever). in the letter, she says that when she saw them for prenatal care, they "don't keep information" from that.

i am calling a big fat steaming pile of bullshit on that. do you know how much information offices collect before the doctor even sees the patient? ALL the information. there is no way that there was not even a phone number on file to contact. a lot of offices these days even require the patient to fill out an information packet before they even get there. every new doctor appointment i've gone to required filling out what feels like a dozen forms, and my contact info is always on at least two of those forms. if they were truly seen for care, there is absolutely no reason that the doctor did not have contact information for them. depending on their record keeping system, there at the very least should be a paper chart for a one-timer visit (visit paperwork is usually put into a chart before being scanned into the system, at least at my hospital) so there has to be SOMETHING there. it is absolutely illogical that the doctor was at a loss as to how to contact the parents. nope, sorry, not buying it at all. not only is this doctor rude and unethical, she's a blatant liar as well.

[nomoxian]

If you want to call her office, they are open Mon-Fri 9-5 (586) 776-1010

Look here at all of these ratings other people gave her :whistle:

healthgrades.com/physician/dr-vesna-roi-2hw77

ratemds.com/doctor-ratings/89776/Dr-Vesna%2BL.-Roi-Roseville-MI.html

ezdoctor.com/doctor/profile/dr-vesna-l-roi-do/881940#summary

vitals.com/doctors/Dr_Vesna_Roi.html

[Delilah]

They didn't just assume it.http://m.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/19/ ... l=facebook

Good point about treating other "sinners". Stay away from this doctor.

The video in your article was very helpful. It really does sound like discrimination based on sexual orientation. When I posted above about wondering if the moms made an assumption about the doc's motives, it was because we've all seen more than a few cases of sloppy journalism. Remember the Medical Kidnapped story about the kids removed for breastfeeding, and then it turned out that there was really solid cause to remove them? That what I was wondering about when I posted.

I still am curious if the doc would have been willing to treat the child if it was the regular doc's day off. Babies can't schedule their ear infections etc, so not all visits can be seen with a certain doctor.

It certainly creates a mess for patients when health care providers can opt out in treating anyone they chose for personal/religious reasons.

edited because I left out a word

[Delilah]

One more thought. How close does this pediatrician feel she needs to be to her patients' families? I've had two children, and none of their pediatricians became our personal friends. It's not like I had them over to dinner or something. The doc could have treated the child without ever discussing the parents' sexuality. This is weird.

[PennySycamore]

What about the Hippocratic Oath they swear upon once they became a doctor? If he lacks a heart, a brain and a conscience, what about the things he swore he'd do for people as a doctor?

The pedi in question is an osteopath and they do not take the Hippocratic Oath. They do however take an oath that is similar.

[doggie]

why is it gays seems cause christians to ignore the rest of the bible.? it is like they fully forget christianity and just hate gays. what about helping others ? taking care of the sick? loving others as you love yourself? throw the bible out all that matters is hate the gays thats all god wants.

[polecat]

why is it gays seems cause christians to ignore the rest of the bible.? it is like they fully forget christianity and just hate gays. what about helping others ? taking care of the sick? loving others as you love yourself? throw the bible out all that matters is hate the gays thats all god wants.

*Fundamentalist Christians

Presumably you are unaware that many Christians don't have a problem with gay people and that gay people can be Christians. Fundamentalist Christians are extremist. Just because they shout the loudest doesn't mean they speak for all of us.