politics
Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!
Rules:
- Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.
Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.
Example:
- Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
- Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
- No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
- Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
- No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning
We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.
All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.
That's all the rules!
Civic Links
• Congressional Awards Program
• Library of Congress Legislative Resources
• U.S. House of Representatives
Partnered Communities:
• News
view the rest of the comments
Here's the thing. You have to look at it from the doctor's point of view.
If the doctor gives assistance to one woman in violation of state law, he risks losing his license and his freedom. He may have helped one patient, but how many other current or future patients are now at risk for a variety of reasons because he's no longer available to help them? How is the community best served by having one less doctor to serve them? Are they willing to send their own families into personal and financial ruin when his salary vanishes and he ends up in jail? It's a classic example of Sophie's Choice.
Given the point above, no doctor is going to put their careers on the line to hide behind a federal law that states are routinely challenging or outright ignoring, and that may very well be overturned by this Supreme Court if given the opportunity.
Even if the doctor wanted to use the federal law as a legal defense, that is a case that would still take years to go through the court system. Not only is this extremely expensive, but it's years that the doctor will still have his license suspended, or years that he'll still be in jail for violating state law, or at the very least years that he is unable to help the women of his state. How many of his other patients would be affected in the meantime while he fights a case he isn't even guaranteed to win?
This is where the problem is. It's easy to say that the doctors can just use federal law as a legal defense so they can administer care, but the reality of the situation is so, so much more complicated than that. And this is the exact effect that the GOP wanted it to have: Make the punishment for going against the system or even trying to fight the system so untenable to doctors that they essentially force doctors into compliance out of fear, rather than having to deal with doctors willing to challenge the system in order to get the best care for their patients. And it's working.
You do realize that the traditional Hippocratic and Osteopathic oaths forbid abortions, right? A lot of physicians adhere to more modern versions, but if you're going by the traditional Hippocratic oath, you're just talking out your ass about something you don't actually understand the context and consequences of.
Edit: It appears that I should clarify some things. I do not agree with the original Hippocratic or Osteopathic oaths. I refuse to take them, and have instead written my own for myself and my firmly held beliefs. Abortion and euthanasia are expressly forbidden by the original oaths, and there are still quite a few physicians that point to those oaths to excuse themselves from violating conservative religious beliefs on those topics. I support the right to abortions, and the right to die with dignity. It's still important to recognize that the original oaths that many physicians (old and new) ascribe to forbid these, and that they will use those oaths as an excuse to violate patients' rights in favor of their own beliefs.