Doctors
Affect Moral Climate
Daily Observer
S. Q. Laprius was clearly
perturbed.
“He’s done it again,” he said somberly.
“Who has done what again?” I asked.
“And to whom?”
“Hugo Swischenbeine, the
gynecologist. He prescribed birth
control pills for a patient of mine.”
“So? It’s done
everyday,” I said.
“But my patient is only fifteen years old.”
“She probably told him she was eighteen,” I noted.
“Probably she did, but she looks about twelve, and Swischenbeine purposely ignored her apparent age.”
“There is something wrong, Harry. No minor is allowed to be treated without the
express consent of her guardians.
Certainly all doctors know that.
Yet, for some reason, there is a continuing invasion of the home by
certain gynecologists and planned parenthood clinics.”
“I don’t know whether or not a patient at a planned
parenthood clinic must prove that she is no longer a minor, but I have the
uncomfortable feeling that it is harder for a minor to buy liquor than to have
an intrauterine device installed or to have birth control pills prescribed.”
“I think I’ll call him. Do you want to listen in on the extension?”
Why not, I thought?
It ought to be quite a conversation.
I went to the den and waited for Lapius to
dial and then picked up the phone.
“Hugo, Lapius here.”
“Hello, Simon.
How are you?” Hugo said.
“Mad as hell, Hugo.
You prescribed birth control pills to a patient of mine.”
“Simon,” the gynecologist purred. “You know I would never interfere in your
practice. She came to me and said that
you had refused, that you wanted to get permission from her parents first.”
“You’re damn right, Hugo. She’s a minor, and you have imposed a medical
risk on her without her parent’s permission.
If anything happens to her, if she develops a thrombosis or some such,
the parents might be able to win a malpractice judgment.”
“Ridiculous, Simon.
She stated that she was eighteen years old. But what difference does it make? Nothing will happen.”
“I’m not sure,” said Lapius. For one thing, you have invaded the privacy
of her home and entered into a collusion with this child to deceive her
parents.”
“You wouldn’t coax her to learn to smoke, but you
supply the physical means and indirectly the moral approbation to have sex
relations.”
“I do this only to protect her, Lapius. Suppose I didn’t. Then she would have dex
relations anyway and end up pregnant.”
“But you did this behind the backs of her parents.”
“She’s my patient.
I have to protect the patient-doctor confidentiality,” Hugo said
acerbically. “And besides, what business
is this of yours?”
“I stated at the start, Hugo, that she is my patient
and that whatever happens to her is my business.”
“Suppose she went out and became pregnant, Lapius. Would that
be better?”
“Perhaps, The statistics on the subject are
interesting, Hugo. Birth control pills
for a nine month term are safer than a pregnancy.”
“Birth control pills for three years are not safer
than a single pregnancy. The use of a
diaphragm is safest of all. If the
diaphragm fails, early abortion is statistically safer than birth control
pills. You should know that, Hugo.”
“But that is not my complaint. I resent your intrusion into the ethical and
moral atmosphere of her home. If
physicians cannot be depended upon to uphold and encourage a moral climate,
then who can?”
“You sound like an old lady, Simon,” Hugo
rasped. “Wake up man, we are in a new
age. The old homilies are falling by the
wayside. If she didn’t get it from me,
she would get from some planned parenthood clinic.”
“There wouldn’t be any planned parenthood clinics if
you fellows didn’t man them.”
“But they are subsidized by the state. Are you going to fight the government now,
Simon? Are you against planned
parenthood?”
“No. But I
think an age limit ought to be carefully guarded. There is an ethical question here, Hugo, that
you are losing sight of.”
“Look, Simon, mind your business and I’ll mind
mine. What I do is none of your
affair. I have to go now. Goodbye.”
He hung up noisily.
Afterwards, Lapius
said. “I guess he is right. What he does is not my affair. But it is the business of the parents of the
community.”