We need medical rights

Back when our Founding Fathers wrote our Constitution, the concept of medical rights barely blipped on their radar screens.  Ok, that might have something to do with the fact that radar screens didn't exist back then, but let's be honest.  Their medicine bags contained a bottle of whiskey, sassafras root, and a twig or two of willow.  If the contents of the Doc's bag didn't cure the patient, what Granny's little brown jug contained would, or would at least by the time the patient woke up after taking a few shots.

Medicine grew in leaps and bounds since the founding of this country so that by the early twentieth century, we had a rudimentary understanding of germs, viruses, genes and their roles in disease and ailments.  A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, which is how we ended up with a eugenics program, frontal lobotomies, forced sterilizations, human testing on the effects of diseases like syphilis, and mass immunizations that turned out not to be as safe as we were told.  Yes, there are at least four instances in our recent history where bad vaccines were released for public use that caused a lot of problems before they were recalled.

Uh-oh, anti vaxer speaking.  Call the censors in to stop the spread of misinformation.

The problem with that knee jerk reaction is I'm not an anti vaxer.  In this day of age, if you don't get vaccinated, you're probably not the smartest oyster on the reef.  Having served honorably in the military, I have been vaccinated against diseases I've never heard of.  I can't say I'm better off for it, but I can't say I'm worse off, either.  

Vaccines are only a small part of what I call the Medical Bill of Rights.  The Medical Bill of Rights I envision would protect you and your family every time you stepped into your doctor's office or medical facility.  You, and you alone, decide what medical procedures you will undergo.  The government, your employer, or your busy body neighbor doesn't get to mandate the decision you must choose.

And equally important, you cannot be be punished in any way, shape, or form for not making a medical decision they want you to make.

The key phrase here is "medical procedure."  Let's define a medical procedure.  

A medical procedure is any procedure that requires an injection, ingestion, incision, or extraction.  Yes, it's the old adage that it's my body and I get to decide what goes in it and what comes out of it. There is no sane argument for claiming others have the right to tell you what you will inject, ingest, incise, or extract.

Your medical records are your own.  You, and only you, can give permission for anyone to look at them.  Obviously, you'll give your doctor permission and anyone treating you to look at them, but you shouldn't be required to share those records with your friends, neighbor, employer, school, or law enforcement.  Ancestry sites should be required to destroy all DNA samples and reports once they have handed your report to you.  The records should not be kept indefinitely and shared with anyone who asks to see them.

It's your right to be left alone.  Start demanding others to respect the right.

"But, but, but..." you cry.

What?  That a bad reaction to a medical procedure be it a vaccine, a drug, or surgeon error is like one in a million?  Isn't public health more important than that one in a million chance something bad will happen to you?

Winning the Powerball jackpot has even lower odds of happening, like in the zone of 292 million to one, yet people win the jackpot what?  About every month and a half or so?  You can bet the lives of the people who beat the odds and win are changed forever.  

You can bet the lives of people who lose in the one in a million odds to a medical side effect are changed forever, too...but in an opposite manner that a Powerball win changes lives.  With the stakes so high, the patient should be making the decision.  The friend or neighbor afraid of getting sick, employers and schools protecting their bottom line, and insurance companies seeking ways to increase profits by denying service shouldn't be making anyone's medical decisions.

Plain and simple, medical decisions are made between the patient and doctor.  Most people, when properly informed, will do the right thing.  But no one likes being told what the "right thing" is, especially when who is doing the telling isn't their board certified doctor.

Medical bill of rights cover more than medical decisions and medical records.  It should also cover the protection of your medical information.  Insurance companies don't need to see your pharmacy purchases for both prescribed and over-the-counter medications and supplements, your medical history, or your genetic profile.  They'll argue otherwise because they want to maximize their profits by paying out as little as possible.  Insurance is a craps game with odds highly favoring the insurance companies.  The law shouldn't be giving the insurance companies a green light to rig the game further in their favor.  If you don't like the craps game, get out of the insurance business.

Employers don't need to see your medical history or genetic profile.  You're going to hire sick people or people prone to becoming ill more so than others.  That craps game is called life.  If you don't like that game, sell your business and go work for someone who is willing to take on the risks of being an employer.

You, and you alone, get to decide when to leave the craps game.  While some may be thankful for the medicine cabinet full of drugs that get them through the day while they hobble around tethered to an oxygen tank, others might think it's time to go with dignity.  No matter how hard doctors try to keep us artificially alive past our natural expiration date, immortality shouldn't be the goal of medicine.  Quality of life with dignity should be the goal.

There you have it.  Life is a craps game.  Some people win.  Some lose.  Because one wants to increase their odds of winning the game isn't a valid reason to load the dice and trample on the rights of others.  Rigging the game doesn't create winners.  It creates losers.

Should this be the goal of medicine?
Created with DALL·E, an AI system by OpenAI

When I was about six, I had a pet praying mantis.  As fall approached and the nights grew chillier, I decided to bring her terrarium indoors.  I was old enough to know the winter would kill her. I figured as long as I fed her, she'd be fine until spring.

As the winter drew closer, my praying mantis grew older, something you never see happening in the garden.  I had a supply of crickets I bought at the pet store to feed her.  One day, she struck out to catch her dinner.  Her front leg fell off.  Without her leg, she couldn't catch her dinner any more and she died a couple of days later.

For an eight-year-old, my pet praying mantis taught me a valuable lesson about life.  Its purpose is to die.  How we live life is important, not how long we live it.  

For days after my praying mantis died, I was racked with guilt.  Instead of leaving her in the garden where she would've died a natural, peaceful death, I let the ravages of old age tear her apart.  I'll never know if she was in pain or if she even felt pain the same as people do.  But I do know trying to get her to live past he natural time to go was a well-intentioned, but cruel form of torture.

People aren't insects.  They can tell their doctor how they feel and what they want.  No one should be taking away their right to choose how their doctor will treat them.  I'd hate to see the day where medicine has advanced so far, we'll witness someone reaching over the counter for their hotdog and their arm falls off.

 

Posted by One Drunk Redneck