This is getting out of hand.
Amanda Blake believes in being prepared. So, when she turned 18 and started dating, she got the blessing of her father and went to get birth control pills even though she had no plans to have sexual relations with anyone. She didn't count on seeing a doctor who she said gave her a lecture about morality and her religious beliefs and didn't prescribe any kind of birth control for her.
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The physician, Dr. Delbert Huelskoetter, practices at the Southwestern Medical Clinic's Niles office on South 11th Street. He could not be reached for comment.
Blake's complaint is that during a Nov. 21 appointment with the doctor, she was not examined, and the doctor never gave her a prescription for birth control pills. She said the doctor questioned her for at least 20 minutes about her moral beliefs, career options and religion, and charged her $68 for the visit, which she paid.
She said she was unaware of the Christian roots of the Southwestern Medical Clinic organization before she went there for an appointment, especially since the Niles clinic also has a walk-in clinic.
It's not just birth control, either. Some pseudo-pious pharmacists have moved beyond blocking access to contraception into obstructing a much wider range of patient care. The American Medical Association is
trying to intervene.
The doctors say that many pharmacists compound their refusal to fill prescriptions by not returning the unfilled prescriptions to patients, thereby stymieing efforts to turn to other pharmacists.
"It's not just contraceptives," said Mary Frank, M.D., a family physician from Mill Valley, Calif., during a discussion of the issue. "It's pain medications and psychotropics. And not only are the patients not getting prescriptions filled, but pharmacists are refusing to return the prescriptions and they are lecturing the patients about the drugs."
Pandagon's Amanda Marcotte has more. It's starting to look like Illinois' approach will be the only effective way to keep fringe religious groups from undermining patient care.
Remember, it's not about a moral position, it's about control. Rational people who prefer not do the jobs they have get into other lines of work. Domineering, intrusive people with an agenda, on the other hand, relish the opportunities their jobs give them to impose some control over you.
[Crossposted at Chaos Digest]