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In medical decision-making, the patient’s rights must come first

Religious faith can be an important resource for some patients, providing guidance, hope or acceptance in the face of serious illness.

But medical care that is restricted by institutional religious doctrine or the provider’s moral beliefs can pose a significant threat to patients’ rights and access to care:

• Pharmacists may refuse to fill prescriptions for contraceptives and other medicines they view as morally unacceptable.
• Hospitals may ban treatment that conflicts with religious doctrine.
• Employers and managed care plans may refuse to provide health insurance coverage for contraception, sterilization or abortion.
• Physicians may refuse to provide fertility services to families they find morally unacceptable.
• Politicians responding to religious conservatives may enact laws that make it difficult for patients to refuse end-of-life treatment.

MergerWatch is dedicated to the principle that health care should be guided by accurate medical information and the patient’s own religious or ethical beliefs. In medical decision-making, the patient’s rights must come first.