Editor:
While reading “OB-Gyn Turmoil at St. Joe’s” by Carrie Peyton Dahlberg (Blog Jammin’, June 21,) regarding a near-ban on sterilization for the chain of hospitals which includes St Joseph and Redwood Memorial, I became angrier and angrier at the gall of those people in administrative jobs making these decisions.
According to the article, “doctors could not use a woman’s age, her psychological condition or the number of her previous pregnancies as medical grounds for sterilization. … Doctors also would not be allowed to sterilize women whose future pregnancies might worsen serious heart, kidney or other conditions.” The administrators are making very personal, values driven, health based, financial decisions for each and every woman and man and their family who would be affected by this near-ban on sterilization.
The hospital policy is restricting health care and narrowing medical care options for people in our community. I dare say the vast majority of people in this country and this community are against such restrictions of care.
I stand up and applaud Dr. William Weiderman for his action in protest of this hospital policy. I describe the policy as anti-family, anti-woman, anti-privacy and anti-health.
Anger can move us to action. Let the hospital administrators know your thoughts and beliefs. How else can we change the policy? Boycott the hospitals?
Irith Shalmony, RN, Arcata
This article appears in Bright Bird.
i have not been a poster before but this offends me. how can a public hospital force me to bow to thier religious ideas??
i am a mom and grandmother of 3 daughters and 3 granddaughters. why are they being discriminated
against??
how dare ADMINISTRATORS make medical decisions !
what would jesus say???
Excellent letter. If St. Joes was located in an area that had numerous other hospitals they could not afford to make decisions such as they have. They are shoving their religious beliefs down our throats at a high cost in lives.
I,too, am impressed with the stand that Dr. Weiderman has taken.
Tell us Sylvia De Rooy how many lives have been lost? Don’t like it, go to Mad River Hospital in Arcata……
I suggest we all take Brian Conners’ advice and use Mad River Hospital for our healthcare needs. I know I will. I cannot believe people in this day and age are making such medieval decisions. Are they practicing blood letting over there, too??
What gets me is that I’ll bet the same folks that complain of “lives being lost” will at the same time, vote to remove services from poor, suffering children who are already living. It’s just disgusting….
Also, from what I read in the papers, St Joes can ill afford to alienate ANY patients right now. It’s just disgusting AND confusing…