Persuasive Speaking Abby Surprenant—2nd Place
Summary
TLDRThe video discusses the troubling issue of Catholic hospitals denying life-saving care to women due to religious directives. It highlights cases where pregnant women, in need of urgent medical intervention, were refused treatment, resulting in life-threatening consequences. Despite federal laws requiring emergency care, Catholic hospitals often prioritize religious rules over patient health, sometimes hiding their affiliation and banned services from patients. The video calls for policy reforms, including transparency in hospital services and stricter enforcement of federal law to ensure women's safety in emergencies.
Takeaways
- 😟 Tamisha Means was denied appropriate care multiple times during her pregnancy, ultimately leading to a stillbirth and her nearly dying from infection.
- 🏥 Mercy Health Hospital, along with many other Catholic hospitals, follows religious directives that restrict certain medical procedures deemed 'intrinsically evil' by the Catholic Church, regardless of patient risk.
- ⚖️ Federal law mandates that hospitals must provide emergency medical services when life is at risk, but Catholic hospitals routinely deny miscarriage management, putting patients in danger.
- 😔 Many women are unaware that they are at Catholic hospitals, which often hide their affiliation, leading to confusion and delayed care during emergencies.
- 💉 Doctors at Catholic hospitals are forced to follow religious rules that sometimes conflict with their medical judgment, putting women's health at risk.
- ❌ Catholic hospitals are forbidden from referring patients to other facilities or writing referrals for procedures they cannot perform, leaving some women without options for life-saving interventions.
- 💸 Despite receiving billions in federal funding, Catholic hospitals continue to deny necessary medical care, violating both medical ethics and federal law.
- 🚨 There have been cases where women were forced to endure dangerous conditions, such as miscarrying outside hospitals that refused to treat them due to Catholic rules.
- ⛔ ACLU and other organizations have called for legal reforms, such as the Patient's Right to Know Act, to require hospitals to disclose services they cannot provide due to religious restrictions.
- 👩⚕️ The story highlights the urgent need for federal enforcement to ensure that religious rules do not override life-saving medical care, especially in emergencies.
Q & A
What happened when Tamisha Means first went to Mercy Health Hospital?
-Tamisha Means was 18 weeks pregnant when her water broke. She rushed to Mercy Health Hospital, where doctors reassured her that her baby was fine, gave her Tylenol, and sent her home, despite the baby having died.
How did Mercy Health Hospital handle Tamisha Means' condition when she returned later?
-When Tamisha returned nine hours later in severe pain, the hospital sent her home again. Only on her third visit, when she was hemorrhaging, did they deliver her stillborn baby. She nearly died from infection and was placed in the ICU.
Why were the doctors at Mercy Health not held personally negligent for their actions?
-The doctors were following hospital rules, which were based on Catholic directives that prohibit medical procedures deemed intrinsically evil by the Catholic faith, including certain emergency miscarriage treatments.
What conflict exists between Catholic hospital rules and federal law?
-Catholic hospitals follow religious directives that prohibit certain medical procedures, but federal law, specifically the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), requires hospitals to provide life-saving services in emergencies, regardless of religious beliefs.
How does the lack of transparency affect patients at Catholic hospitals?
-Many patients are unaware they are at a Catholic hospital or what that implies for their care. Visible markers like crucifixes are being removed, and hospitals often rename themselves to hide their Catholic affiliation.
What are some of the consequences of Catholic hospitals denying emergency miscarriage management?
-Women’s lives are endangered as doctors at Catholic hospitals are forced to deny or delay life-saving interventions. This has led to infections, sepsis, and even death in some cases.
How do Catholic hospitals prioritize care when it comes to miscarriage or pregnancy complications?
-Catholic hospitals often prioritize the preservation of the fetus, even if it is no longer viable, over the health of the woman. This can lead to delays in care or outright denial of necessary medical procedures.
What did a report on Catholic hospitals reveal about the experiences of OBGYNs working there?
-A report revealed that 33% of OBGYNs at Catholic hospitals experienced severe conflict with the quality of care they could provide, with some unable to even refer patients for necessary medical procedures due to fear of losing their jobs.
What legal action has been taken to address the denial of care at Catholic hospitals?
-The Patient’s Right to Know Act, currently being introduced in 28 states, would require Catholic hospitals to inform patients upfront about any services they cannot provide due to religious restrictions.
What are some solutions proposed to address the issues with Catholic hospitals' denial of care?
-Proposed solutions include making it clear that federal funding will be pulled from Catholic hospitals that violate the law, passing the Patient’s Right to Know Act, and educating women about the importance of knowing whether their hospital is Catholic before seeking care.
Outlines
🚨 Negligence at Catholic Hospitals: A Fatal Risk to Women's Health
This paragraph narrates the harrowing experience of Tamisha Means, who, after experiencing water breakage at 18 weeks, was repeatedly sent home by doctors at a Catholic hospital despite severe pain and symptoms. The hospital followed Catholic rules that prohibit certain medical interventions, even when the baby's life was at risk. Despite federal laws mandating care when life is at stake, the hospital's adherence to religious directives led to a delayed delivery of her stillborn child, almost costing her life. This incident highlights the conflict between Catholic hospital policies and federal healthcare laws, putting women's lives in danger by denying necessary emergency care.
⚠️ The Conflict of Conscience: Doctors Struggle at Catholic Hospitals
This paragraph delves into the ethical dilemmas faced by doctors working at Catholic hospitals, where they are forced to prioritize religious directives over their medical judgment. Interviews reveal that 33% of OBGYNs feel conflicted about the quality of care they can provide, with some unable to offer life-saving treatments or even referrals, risking patients' lives. Specific cases are cited, including a woman forced to deliver her child outside the hospital and another who nearly died from heart failure. The text also discusses the repercussions for healthcare providers who defy church rules, such as Sister Mary McBride, who was excommunicated for allowing a life-saving procedure. The need for federal intervention and patient awareness is emphasized to prevent these dangerous situations.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Catholic Hospitals
💡Miscarriage Management
💡Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs)
💡Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA)
💡Federal Law vs. Religious Beliefs
💡Patient's Right to Know Act
💡Sepsis
💡Fetal Extraction
💡Medicare Funding
💡Conscientious Objection
Highlights
Tamisha Means was sent home twice from Mercy Health despite her water breaking and being in excruciating pain.
Mercy Health and over 1,000 Catholic hospitals are banned from providing medical procedures deemed 'intrinsically evil' by the Catholic faith.
Federal law mandates that hospitals, even Catholic ones, must provide life-saving services regardless of religious beliefs.
Means nearly died from an infection after being denied miscarriage management, raising concerns about Catholic hospitals following religious doctrines over medical needs.
Catholic hospitals benefit from $115 billion in federal funding, yet their refusal to provide certain care violates federal law.
Patients often don't know they are at a Catholic hospital, as some hospitals remove religious markers or rename themselves.
Doctors at Catholic hospitals are often forced to go against their medical judgment, leading to compromised patient care.
33% of OBGYNs interviewed at Catholic hospitals reported a severe conflict with the quality of care they provided.
Catholic hospitals often refuse to refer patients to other providers for care they deem unacceptable, even if it puts patients' lives at risk.
A woman in Washington was forced to wait for a natural miscarriage despite the risks, laying in a hospital bed listening to her child's dying heartbeat for seven hours.
Doctors at Catholic hospitals are unable to provide emergency miscarriage care even when it risks infection and death.
Sister Mary McBride was excommunicated for authorizing a life-saving fetal extraction for a woman suffering from heart failure during a miscarriage.
The Department of Health and Human Services has the authority to pull funding from Catholic hospitals that do not comply with federal law, as it did with River District Hospital.
The Patients’ Right to Know Act is being introduced in 28 states to ensure that patients are informed about the services Catholic hospitals cannot provide.
Catholic hospitals prioritize the preservation of the fetus, even in cases where it endangers the mother's life, raising ethical and legal concerns.
Transcripts
when Tamisha means was 18 weeks pregnant
and felt her water break she rushed to
Mercy Health Hospital their doctors
determined the baby had died but think
progress on September 12th 2016 explains
that's not what they told
her instead doctor's reassured means her
baby was fine gave her two Tylenol and
sent her
home when she returned 9 hours later in
excruciate ing pain they did it again
the third time means arrived by
ambulance
hemorrhaging that's when doctors finally
delivered her stillborn son leaving
means in the ICU after nearly dying from
infection but the doctors at Mercy
Health weren't being personally
negligent because they were just
following Hospital
rules slate on September 1st 2016
explains Mercy Health along with 1,000
other Catholic Hospitals is banned from
providing any medical procedure deemed
intrinsically Evil by the Catholic faith
but the Washington Post on September 3rd
2016 points out federal law gives one
stipulation to the religious exemption
they must provide those Services when a
life is at stake yet rewire of September
3rd 2016 found by routinely denying
emergency miscarriage management
Catholic Hospitals are using their faith
to justify endangering the lives of the
one and five women who will Mis
carry this isn't about access to
abortion or contraception because
Catholic Hospitals do have a legal right
to refuse those
services but this is about access to
emergency life-saving medical care and
considering the Washington Post on
September 22nd 2016 warns one and six
hospitals are Catholic
we must address the causes effects and
solutions that led Aaron Matson to tell
rewire on March 25th 2013 I'm happily
Catholic but I'd never willingly step
foot in a Catholic
Hospital the sickest patient Dr David
Eisenberg remembers nearly died of
sepsis in his ER pregnant no fetal
heartbeat and a 106 degree fever all
because 10 days earlier she was sent
home by St Joseph's hospital and told
nothing could be done Catholic Hospitals
prioritize dead fetuses over the women
carrying them by breaking the law and
purposely misleading
patients initially the aention salon
explains Catholic Hospitals do follow
two sets of rules the first is the
ethical and religious directives for
Catholic healthc Care Services given by
the church which forbids any health care
that alters the natural course of
reproduction but the other is the
emergency medical treatment and active
Labor Act federal law requiring every
hospital that receives Medicare funding
to provide every emergency service
regardless of religious belief andice on
January 30th 2017 reminds Catholic
Hospitals do benefit from
115 billion federal dollars so denial of
care is violation of the law
and too often women have no idea they're
at Catholic Hospitals or even what that
means think progress in September 3rd
2016 explains years ago the crucifix in
the front entrance was typically the
giveaway but now they're removing
visible markers starting with the name
New Republic on November 1st 2016
explains when St Mary's and St Joseph's
Hospital merged earlier this year in
Lexington they kept their Catholic
affiliation
but scrubbed it from their website and
renamed themselves Kentucky one Health
and names get even more bizarrely
deceptive like Swedish Medical Center in
Seattle or the Jewish hospital in
Louisville and once inside patients
aren't informed of ban procedures until
it's too late the aclu's May 2016 report
explains Angela valanis had a completely
laid out birth plan with her doctors at
Presence Hospital including a tubal
liation post birth but it wasn't until
she was being wheeled in for her
C-section her doctor admitted he
couldn't provide the Tubba liation but
she could call their 1 1800 number post
surgery to voice a
complaint Catholic Hospitals aren't just
denying the care they deem
anti-catholic they're hiding
it when a woman in Washington began
heavily bleeding doctors told her they'd
have to wait until she miscarried
naturally no matter the risk so she laid
in a hospital bed listening to her dying
child's heartbeat until it stopped 7
hours
later this denial of care has two
massive effects doctors are forced to
ignore their best medical judgment and
women's health is
compromised initially the ethical and
religious directives were created to
protect doctor's conscience but they
forced doctors to violate it a September
2016 report in the Journal of
perspectives on sexual and reproductive
Health interviewed 27 OBGYNs at Catholic
Hospitals across the country with
terrifying
results 33% of Physicians admitted to
having a severe conflict with the
quality of care provided at Catholic
Hospitals worst Catholic doctors can't
write referrals or transfer patients so
when presented with women who needed
life-saving interventions 2 7% of
doctors provided no care and no referral
because they feared for their
jobs they knew those women could die and
they sent them home
anyway and there's no doubt these women
face terrifying consequences the aclu's
affir mention report explains when Mindy
SN began heavily bleeding at just 11
weeks doctors told her she wasn't
bleeding enough to justify a fetal
extraction no matter her risk of
infection and death so on her fourth ER
visit Swank was forced to bring the
dozens of underwear and Pad she had
soaked
through just so that nurses could weigh
the blood in front of her and once again
determine it wasn't
enough or like a 19-year-old woman who
the aforementioned ACLU report explains
delivered her 16-week old child in an
ambulance outside of the hospital that
refused to treat
her the Catholic rules to let a woman
suffer die or know her pregnancy could
kill her at any moment always Trump the
woman her
family and federal
law when a 27-year-old woman arrived at
St Joseph's hospital with heart failure
from a weeks-long
miscarriage Sister Mary McBride made the
executive decision allowing doctors to
perform a fetal extraction saving the
woman's life but when the church found
out St Joseph's lost its Catholic
affiliation and sister McBride was
excommunicated Solutions have to be
enacted federally and
personally first The Daily Coast on
January 31st 2017 reminds because
Catholic Hospitals do benefit from
billions of Medicare dollars the
Department of Health and Human Services
has to make it clear they can and will
pull funding they did it just last year
to River District Hospital in Detroit
after failed to follow protocol to
prevent a patient's suicide so there
should be nothing stopping the
department from doing the same to
Catholic
Hospitals next the patient's right to
know Act is currently being introduced
in 28 States and would require doctors
at every Catholic Hospital to be upfront
about the services they can't provide
find out more information and how to get
it passed in your state at aclu.org
slaent right to know
and finally make sure the women in your
life know the hospital they choose
matters and whenever possible to avoid
Catholic Hospitals for burs and
Emergency Care I've created a packet
with the name and location of every
Catholic Hospital that doesn't use Saint
in the name take a picture of your state
and save
it shortly after he excommunicated
sister McBride Father John Eric
Justified his decision saying
there are just some cases where the
mother and child will have to die
together and if he gets his way so many
more needlessly and senselessly
will alternate on October 4th 2016
explained a miscarriage is already one
of the worst moments of a woman's life
and at a Catholic Hospital it could
easily be her last and maybe that's okay
with the church but after addressing the
causes and effects of Catholic Hospitals
denial of care we know the solutions
which must be implemented in order for
Catholic
Hospitals to get their priorities
straight
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