Rich, Jay and Bob conclude their discussion on President Obama's appeal for common ground in the abortion debate. Rich continues his series on cultural cognitive dissonance by discussing the concept of informed consent. Why are women and girls seeking abortions not provided with the same information and opportunities that those seeking wisdom tooth extractions presently get?
http://media.libsyn.com/media/serge13102/LTIPodcast17.mp3 or subscribe with Itunes at http://serge13102.libsyn.com/rss (click the advanced tab, click "subscribe to podcast", and then copy and paste the bolded url into the field).
Serge, I really enjoyed your comparison between the consultation that you provide for your patients versus what abortion clinics provide for their patients. It was very eye-opening. So many of these points -- informed consent, viewing of medical images, a waiting period -- are so sensible that it's hard to argue against them. What's wrong with informed consent? Unless of course, the topic is abortion, and then we put our logic in the back seat and let our emotions drive....
ReplyDeleteFor the record, my oral surgeon did almost none of the things that you offer your patients. I signed a consent form, and we discussed the possible complications. But there was no video, and he didn't require a waiting period. (I got a waiting period anyway, but only because I wasn't ready to have it done on the first day.) So perhaps I would have been better off in your office, Serge! However, I don't feel seriously short-changed. Yeah, a video would have been cool, but I think I understood the procedure without it.
To be clear, not every surgeon follows the protocol that we do, and I just started showing the video 4-5 years ago. However, each of the steps that I detailed are recommended by our national organization, and specifically are designed to enhance the informed consent process.
ReplyDeleteThanks for listening and I'm glad your surgery went well. Unfortunately,it would hurt just as much if I did it. :-)