Prolife/Prochoice personal health care random question?

[downtoearth]

Would you continue seeing a doctor who didn't agree with your views on elective abortions?

For example, if you were prolife and had an ob/gyn that you knew provided both surgical and pill elective abortions, would you switch? 

Conversely, if you were prochoice and had an ob/gyn that refused you or you knew didn't provide elective abortions, would you switch?

[AJL]

I wouldn't switch if they didn't do abortions or provide medical abortions. I would switch if they didn't do those things AND were against abortion and refused to provide referrals to other physicians who do them.

[downtoearth]

Sept 10, 2015 13:49:51 GMT -5 AJL said:

I wouldn't switch if they didn't do abortions or provide medical abortions. I would switch if they didn't do those things AND were against abortion and refused to provide referrals to other physicians who do them.

But have you ever asked them why they don't do them? Would a general referral from the receptionist/nurse to "just call Planned Parenthood" be appropriate?

I've never thought to ask these things before to a care provider.

[debatethis]

I would never see a pro-life ob/gyn. They beyond anyone else should understand the need for abortions.

I don't know what I would do if I were pro life. I can't speculate on that because it's so far outside of my belief paradigm that I can't even figure out where my rationale would lay in either direction.

[Aquatica]

I wouldn't until their personal views affected my healthcare choices or available options.

I usually like to interview my doctors to see if they will be a good fit for what I want (eg alternative methods before pushing prescriptions). Or will change a doctor based on how they speak to me (I'll give them a few chances but I don't like to be spoken down to, or intimiated).

[AJL]

Sept 10, 2015 13:53:27 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

Sept 10, 2015 13:49:51 GMT -5 AJL said:

I wouldn't switch if they didn't do abortions or provide medical abortions. I would switch if they didn't do those things AND were against abortion and refused to provide referrals to other physicians who do them.

But have you ever asked them why they don't do them? Would a general referral from the receptionist/nurse to "just call Planned Parenthood" be appropriate?

I've never thought to ask these things before to a care provider.

I've never asked my OB/GYN her position on abortion or whether she does them or not. From what I know of her and our conversations during my pregnancies, I think she is very much supportive of abortion choices. However she belongs to a large multi-specialty practice and may not do them in her office. So yeah... I don't know.

I always assumed that if I needed to have an abortion for an unintended pregnancy, I would consult PP or Whole Women's Health. I likely wouldn't have seen my OB/GYN first. If I had an nonviable planned pregnancy, I kind of assumed between my OB and my MFM doctor they would have options for me. 

[Deleted]

This is the reason I have never seen an OB and one of the reasons why I chose my midwives. I am struggling right now with the decision of wherher or not to have my next baby in the hospital because with my last homebirth my midwives didn't make it in time (they are an hour and a half away). I am "interviewing" an OB next week who was recommended to me because she is very vocally pro-life and even has a link to the local crisis pregnancy center on her homepage. I am bringing this issue up at our first meeting. If she does participate in elective abortions I will not be choosing her as a care provider and will be having another homebirth instead.

[Cicero]

Haven't asked and wouldn't switch. I like the group I see and they're the only non-high risk practice that has privileges to deliver at the hospital I want to use.

[downtoearth]

Sept 10, 2015 14:02:02 GMT -5 lurkingaw said:

This is the reason I have never seen an OB and one of the reasons why I chose my midwives. I am struggling right now with the decision of wherher or not to have my next baby in the hospital because with my last homebirth my midwives didn't make it in time (they are an hour and a half away). I am "interviewing" an OB next week who was recommended to me because she is very vocally pro-life and even has a link to the local crisis pregnancy center on her homepage. I am bringing this issue up at our first meeting. If she does participate in elective abortions I will not be choosing her as a care provider and will be having another homebirth instead.

You can live in my state... in our town we have two ob/gyns only and neither do abortions. So my choices are 100% prolife ob/gyns that don't do elective abortions for my next surgery and woman's health care or drive out of town to get health care (approximately 1.5-2 hours).

ETA: I realize now that pro-life was likely wrong.  They may be pro-choice or pro-life and I don't know, just that they don't do elective abortions.  

[theoriginalbean]

I switched because of an OB's attitude toward prenatal testing, which gave me the impression that he would lean pro-life. I'm lucky that I had plenty of other choices in my area.

[josieposy]

I have never asked, but I would treat it the same as any other physician or professional anything. If I'm not getting the care or service I need, I'll switch.

[Deleted]

I switched family docs because the old one wrote a very passionate and political letter to the editor in the local paper during the 2004 election that irritated me. It had nothing to do with abortion. I just want the person responsible for helping me make healthcare decisions to be someone I respect and I felt like I couldn't completely respect or trust her after reading her letter.

[twotrue]

I've never asked. I'm too busy asking if they have other lesbian patients. I think I might switch though if the doctor was pro-life and wouldn't at the very least refer out for abortion services.

[tsk1564]

Eh, well I have great (or maybe not so great) story about this exact thing. When I had an unwanted pregnancy last winter I called my ob/gyn and spoke with the nurse practitioner. I was in tears on the phone talking to this person and then she drops the following "No, we are a pro-life office, have you considered adoption?" We can refer you to (insert local crisis pregnancy center)"

I told her that I'd made up my mind and called PP, I had to drive 200+ miles for my abortion. I am so glad I no longer live in the Midwest.

So no, I would not, however there are federal laws that prohibit my current healthcare provider from providing abortion care, so... not better. But I don't get to choose otherwise.

[penguingrrl]

I have never asked. But if something came up that made it clear that they were staunchly anti choice I would switch because I would assume they were not good at medicine if they didn't understand and respect why abortions need to be safe and legal.

[MDmomof2]

I got the impression that both OBs I saw during my pregnancy were pro-choice as they encouraged pre-natal testing "in case I wanted to make a decision based on the results." I am pro-choice so that aligns with my beliefs. I'm not sure how someone who isn't pro-choice would have communicated the pre-natal testing choices as they all seem so common.

[tacosforlife]

I thought that a lot of OBGYNs don't perform abortions for reasons that don't have to do with their views on whether abortion should be legal or accessible. Are more OBGYNs performing abortions in their offices than I know about? (Awesome if they are.) I think I've always assumed that if I needed an abortion, I'd wind up at Planned Parenthood or a similar facility and not my regular OBGYN, but I'm not really sure where that assumption came from.

That's a long way of saying that I wouldn't assume that an OBGYN who doesn't perform abortions is necessarily anti-abortion. I would, however, have a major problem if the doctor did not refer to an appropriate physician/facility or offered any judgment regarding my choice.

[downtoearth]

Sept 10, 2015 14:43:29 GMT -5 tacosforlife said:

I thought that a lot of OBGYNs don't perform abortions for reasons that don't have to do with their views on whether abortion should be legal or accessible. Are more OBGYNs performing abortions in their offices than I know about? (Awesome if they are.) I think I've always assumed that if I needed an abortion, I'd wind up at Planned Parenthood or a similar facility and not my regular OBGYN, but I'm not really sure where that assumption came from.

That's a long way of saying that I wouldn't assume that an OBGYN who doesn't perform abortions is necessarily anti-abortion. I would, however, have a major problem if the doctor did not refer to an appropriate physician/facility or offered any judgment regarding my choice.

As I said, I'll have to ask at my Oct annual appt, but why would an OB/GYN not perform elective abortions or at least prescribe the mifpretsone early abortion pill (not day after, but the one you can take to like 9 weeks) electively, if they weren't against elective abortions where the fetus doesn't have an identified birth/chromosomal issue or the mother doesn't have a health issue?  Where do they draw the line between D&Cs/pills after missed miscarriages and doing those same items when the fetus has a heartbeat?  I'm genuinely curious and hadn't really thought of this from a personal standpoint before this week.

[downtoearth]

Sept 10, 2015 14:52:06 GMT -5 Catlawdy said:

Sept 10, 2015 14:02:02 GMT -5 lurkingaw said:

This is the reason I have never seen an OB and one of the reasons why I chose my midwives. I am struggling right now with the decision of wherher or not to have my next baby in the hospital because with my last homebirth my midwives didn't make it in time (they are an hour and a half away). I am "interviewing" an OB next week who was recommended to me because she is very vocally pro-life and even has a link to the local crisis pregnancy center on her homepage. I am bringing this issue up at our first meeting. If she does participate in elective abortions I will not be choosing her as a care provider and will be having another homebirth instead.

What are you afraid she's going to do that would impact your health care?

The OB will sneak her an abortion, duh! Okay, I know that's mean, but I just assumed that all OB/GYNs listen to a woman's health care concerns and give her the medical information to make an informed decision.  A prochoice doctor would respect a patients choice to have a child under any conditions, I'm not so sure about someone who doesn't perform abortions being as open to the other viewpoint when discussing care options.

[Cicero]

Sept 10, 2015 14:51:06 GMT -5 Catlawdy said:

Sept 10, 2015 14:04:10 GMT -5 Cicero said:

Haven't asked and wouldn't switch. I like the group I see and they're the only non-high risk practice that has privileges to deliver at the hospital I want to use.

I wonder if we have the same practice.  THey do high risk and deliver at the hospital I think you used.  If so, they are pro choice.

Possibly, they've got more than one office and one of them is out your way. I don't know if they do high risk at all, just that they are the only non-specifically high risk practice that delivers there.

[Velar Fricative]

I haven't asked. Thankfully when we needed to terminate, the OB doesn't perform them (not because he was pro-life, but for many other mostly political/financial/safety reasons) but he gave us all the referrals we needed and made the call to the hospital to arrange for them to meet with us that afternoon we received the medical diagnoses. I guess I just took for granted that OBs in this area would be pro-choice, but if I were to switch doctors someday, I would definitely ask and would opt not to see a pro-life doctor. But since I won't switch doctors, I won't need to ask.

[Deleted]

Sept 10, 2015 14:52:06 GMT -5 Catlawdy said:

Sept 10, 2015 14:02:02 GMT -5 lurkingaw said:

This is the reason I have never seen an OB and one of the reasons why I chose my midwives. I am struggling right now with the decision of wherher or not to have my next baby in the hospital because with my last homebirth my midwives didn't make it in time (they are an hour and a half away). I am "interviewing" an OB next week who was recommended to me because she is very vocally pro-life and even has a link to the local crisis pregnancy center on her homepage. I am bringing this issue up at our first meeting. If she does participate in elective abortions I will not be choosing her as a care provider and will be having another homebirth instead.

What are you afraid she's going to do that would impact your health care?

I'm not afraid of anything. I just prefer someone who values the lives of unborn children in the same way as I do caring for my own unborn child. I have choices, so I will go with my preference in the same way others in this thread do.

[ttt]

Sept 10, 2015 14:02:02 GMT -5 lurkingaw said:

This is the reason I have never seen an OB and one of the reasons why I chose my midwives. I am struggling right now with the decision of wherher or not to have my next baby in the hospital because with my last homebirth my midwives didn't make it in time (they are an hour and a half away). I am "interviewing" an OB next week who was recommended to me because she is very vocally pro-life and even has a link to the local crisis pregnancy center on her homepage. I am bringing this issue up at our first meeting. If she does participate in elective abortions I will not be choosing her as a care provider and will be having another homebirth instead.

It's great that you have that choice.

[tacosforlife]

Sept 10, 2015 14:57:50 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

Sept 10, 2015 14:43:29 GMT -5 tacosforlife said:

I thought that a lot of OBGYNs don't perform abortions for reasons that don't have to do with their views on whether abortion should be legal or accessible. Are more OBGYNs performing abortions in their offices than I know about? (Awesome if they are.) I think I've always assumed that if I needed an abortion, I'd wind up at Planned Parenthood or a similar facility and not my regular OBGYN, but I'm not really sure where that assumption came from.

That's a long way of saying that I wouldn't assume that an OBGYN who doesn't perform abortions is necessarily anti-abortion. I would, however, have a major problem if the doctor did not refer to an appropriate physician/facility or offered any judgment regarding my choice.

As I said, I'll have to ask at my Oct annual appt, but why would an OB/GYN not perform elective abortions or at least prescribe the mifpretsone early abortion pill (not day after, but the one you can take to like 9 weeks) electively, if they weren't against elective abortions where the fetus doesn't have an identified birth/chromosomal issue or the mother doesn't have a health issue?  Where do they draw the line between D&Cs/pills after missed miscarriages and doing those same items when the fetus has a heartbeat?  I'm genuinely curious and hadn't really thought of this from a personal standpoint before this week.

It was my impression that there are political/logistical reasons some doctors won't do it. Per the Mother Jones article yesterday, regulations have gotten much stricter in the last 10 years. One of the new anti-abortion crowd favorites is requiring doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. And for political reasons, some hospitals are reluctant to grant admitting privileges. I believe this is especially an issue when an area is primarily served by Catholic hospitals.

And now with the focus on requiring abortions to be performed in ambulatory surgical centers, there are even more hurdles.

I honestly don't know if my past OBGYNs performed abortions because I have never asked. But I believe most of the doctors I've seen have been affiliated with Catholic hospitals, so I don't necessarily think their not performing abortions would be indicative of their personal views on abortions. More of a professional compromise they've had to make.

[ttt]

Just want to point out that this is yet another thing that men never have to think or worry about: asking his doctors whether they're morally opposed or otherwise restricted from offering him the full range of medical options, including in life-threatening circumstances, along with dealing with the awkwardness and anxiety of asking the question in the first place.

[StrawberryBlondie]

I have never asked and don't think I would, but if it turned out I needed one and couldn't get one, I'd switch.

[downtoearth]

Sept 10, 2015 15:07:53 GMT -5 ttt said:

Just want to point out that this is yet another thing that men never have to think or worry about: asking his doctors whether they're morally opposed or otherwise restricted from offering him the full range of medical options, including in life-threatening circumstances, along with dealing with the awkwardness and anxiety of asking the question in the first place.

Nail on head!!!!! Thank-you!

[blink]

Sept 10, 2015 15:07:53 GMT -5 ttt said:

Just want to point out that this is yet another thing that men never have to think or worry about: asking his doctors whether they're morally opposed or otherwise restricted from offering him the full range of medical options, including in life-threatening circumstances, along with dealing with the awkwardness and anxiety of asking the question in the first place.

Well they do think about it, because women are just incapable of thinking so these poor guys have to make the decisions for us. They're just looking out for our safety and the safety of the future extremist Republicans voters  children. We should all be thankful that they are making our lives easier by not bothering us with these messy little details.

[Velar Fricative]

OMG the posts about doctors making comments or not recommending pre-natal testing because they're pro-life makes me livid. Not everyone who receives a particular diagnosis chooses to terminate. How dare a doctor purposely not offer such testing because he/she fears what the patient will do after receiving the results. Patients should have the right to know, wherever possible*, that their baby has a particular diagnoses and seek specialists who can attend to their baby's needs upon birth and beyond (or during the rest of the pregnancy too). This is all just disgusting to me.

*I'm aware some of these tests aren't standard in many offices. I don't have a problem with that as long as the reasons behind it don't have to do with being pro-life and not wanting to give your patients medical information.

[ttt]

Sept 10, 2015 15:08:42 GMT -5 StrawberryBlondie said:

I have never asked and don't think I would, but if it turned out I needed one and couldn't get one, I'd switch.

Unfortunately sometimes circumstances don't permit this. I've never asked either but now I feel like I was kind of naive not to think of it and lucky it never became a problem.