Special Report: Bad Medicine - Doctors of Intolerance

Posted on June 2, 2008

It’s surprising how many high-profile physicians have latched onto the Right-wing political agenda. Honestly, they’re like leeches - sucking the lifeblood from civilized discourse on the fair treatment for LGBT Americans or women’s health issues. Below are some nauseating examples:

Longtime LGBT foe Dr. Steven Hotze of Houston, who helped Mike Huckabee raise money for his presidential bid, signed off on the Coalition on Revival’s Manifesto for the Christian Church that included the following proclamations:

• A wife may work outside the home only with her husband’s consent.
• “Biblical spanking” that results in “temporary or superficial bruises or welts” should not be considered a crime.
• No doctor shall provide medical service on the Sabbath.
• All disease and disability is caused by the sin of Adam and Eve.
• People receiving medical treatment are not immune from divine intervention or demonic forces.
• Physicians should preach to their patients because salvation is the key to their health.
• Treatment of the “physical body” is not a doctor’s highest priority.

NC state Senator Dr James Forrester certainly has his priorities straight. (If you’ll pardon the pun.) From News&Observer: In Raleigh, just one day into the 2008 legislative session, state Sen. Jim Forrester, R-Gaston, filed an anti-gay marriage state constitutional amendment, and a similar bill is expected to be introduced into the state House. This is the fourth consecutive session such an amendment has been filed in Raleigh.’ (Forrester’s bill would outlaw any recognition of civil unions - so don’t deceived by conservative Christians who tell you they’re only interested in ‘protecting’ marriage.)

Focus on the Family’s Dr. James Dobson lathers his hate like ultrasound gel on an expectant mother’s stomach. “Homosexuals are not monogamous. They want to destroy the institution of marriage. It will destroy marriage. It will destroy the Earth.” (Take 100 aspirin and call us in the morning.) PFAW has more: ‘While Dobson made a name for himself as an avuncular purveyor of parenting advice, he now uses that power to promote a range of troubling views and candidates who share those views. He says the gay rights movement is seeking the “utter destruction of the family” and likens proponents of marriage equality to the Nazis. He has backed candidates who call for the execution of abortion providers…’

Dr. Bill Frist, the former Senate Majority Leader and Tennessee surgeon who famously diagnosed Terri Schiavo without having met her, supports torture (in the form of waterboarding) and in 2006 considered gay marriage and flag burning to be the nation’s most pressing issues. The New York Observer observes: ‘Cultivating his image as a kindly and caring physician, he never failed to mention his pious concern for patients while casting his vote against their interests. He is the most reliable Senate ally of the pharmaceutical and insurance lobbyists.’

It’s probably a good idea to know if (or how fervently) your personal physician embraces Right-wing politics.  Woe betide the gay man who undergoes prostate surgery from a conservative hack that puts his religious principles before the sexual health of his patients. (Good luck with those nerves being spared.) And lesbian couples seeking fertility treatments? Fuggedaboutit. 

 

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