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Iowa Board of Medicine Charges Surgeon Involving Consent to Perform a Tubal Ligation

By Steve Lombardi

On July 8, 2009 an Iowa surgeon was charged by the Iowa Board of Medicine as follows:

Paragraph 12. The Board alleges that Respondent failed to conform to the minimum standard of acceptable and prevailing practice of medicine in Iowa when he performed a tubal ligation on a female patient without proper consent in Iowa Falls, Iowa in 2008. The information reviewed by the Board indicates that the patient affirmatively told Respondent that she did not want a tubal ligation, she did not sign a consent form for a tubal ligation and Respondent performed the procedure without proper patient consent.

I've read the Statement of Charges and all of the comments on the two major Iowa news sources that covered this story. See the Des Moines Register website and the KCCI website. A few of the comments are fair, but several of those commenting condemned the patient without any evidence whatsoever. I address this to you.

The Diseased Mind: Prejudice, hatred and ignorance

I have no bone to pick with the few of you who are fair minded and impartial. But to those who wrongly condemn the patient your bias is obviously brought on by terminal ignorance. For all you know the woman is your mother or sister or aunt or friend whose not told any of you these private details; and yet you publicly condemn her without knowing her or the facts of her life or this surgical event. You engage in this offending banter without regard to who she is or how she might feel after reading your insensitive and ignorant comments. For all you know she's read them, is seething mad but is unable to defend herself publicly.

Have any of you even read the charges?

First, anyone can read the Statement of Charges, or the press release by the Iowa Board of Medicine. You simply need to go to the Iowa Board of Medicine website and look under Press Releases – 2009, July 16, 2009. The doctor has been charged by the Board and they set a hearing for September 9, 2009. The Board filed the Statement of Charges on July 8, 2009. The doctor has 20 days in which to answer. The doctor has been charged based upon the Board's investigation.

Second, it should bring shame upon you that you don't understand the American judicial process and why it is that in this country we have trial by jury and the right to present evidence. In this country we don't prejudge, we present evidence, a jury or in this case a board, listens and then makes a decision. We don't condemn someone because they aren't wealthy. We don't condemn a person because of their gender - in this case a woman. We were supposed to learn in junior high school that we are all treated equally in the eyes of the law. Did you miss that class? If you didn't, you missed the point of the lesson on the American court system.

THE FACTS

As a lawyer I'm constrained to enter into a discussion to which my client is involved, but some of you should be ashamed of yourselves. The woman is not on welfare and Blue Cross Blue Shield provided payment for surgery. I am not at liberty to say more so let's talk some more about your blatant prejudices. To do so let us assume a patient is on welfare. In this country the type of insurance coverage does not determine the level of care a patient receives. We don't punish the poor with substandard medical care nor do we take away their right to control their bodies and what surgery to which they consent. Consent isn't just the right of the rich, the powerful, the privileged and the wealthy. You should know that by now. If you can read and write you should know this country is based on equality – not privilege. We don't have a king or queen or privileged ruling class, we elect our leaders.

The occupations of the American Presidents previous to taking the highest office in America have been a peanut farmer, a Texan who destroyed everything he ever tried to run and even a poor Illinois Congressman whose mother was white and father black. They have been surveyors, schoolteachers, lawyers, writers, inventors, architects, soldiers, a postmaster, a sheriff, mayor, rancher, a dean, a newspaper editor, engineers, farmers, a haberdasher, a judge, a journalist, a movie actor, a corporate spokesperson, Governors, a community organizer, a civil rights lawyer and a constitutional law professor. What haven't had are Kings and Queens.

You need to ask yourselves how you grew so intellectually insensitive and ignorant.

You should all visit a nursing home in this next week. After you look into the eyes of the poor elderly residents visit the bathroom and look in the mirror. Are you willing to agree you will receive substandard medical care and give up your right to consent to medical intervention if you end up elderly and poor like the residents that live there?

If you lose your job America doesn't ship you off to a third rate hospital where you won't be a burden on our tax base. And if your spouse divorces you and you end with the dependent children America doesn't issue you a substandard medical insurance card, not just for you but also for your children. To think America should do so is shameful and shows a complete lack of a good civics education. In this case you all owe this patient an apology.

AND THEN, THEY CAME FOR ME…

Prejudices are the chains forged by ignorance to keep men apart.

Countess of Blessington

How many of you do not presently have health insurance? Does that mean you give up the right to say what medical care you will receive?

I have to wonder how many of you are males with no clue about what a woman goes through biologically and emotionally concerning the need to have children.

How many of you men are divorced, behind on your child support, aren't visiting your children, aren't providing medical insurance, aren't providing life insurance coverage to your dependent children as ordered by the court to do so?

How many of you have outstanding traffic fines?

How many of you who haven't paid your own financial obligations still have money for cable TV, smoke cigarettes, have money to drink on Friday night, can afford tattoos and fashionable clothes along with Internet access?

Worse than welfare mothers ever could be are those with the means who ignore their own financial responsibilities and point the finger at those who are financially unable. I'd include those men and women who sit back and point the finger at the poor or those who immigrated into this country, all the while acting contrary to the standard they themselves publicly set. Ignorance is one reason why Anne Coulter is so popular at spreading hatred.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wnPHFSdrME

One of you suggested the patient probably changed her mind in the middle of anesthesia. Are you serious? You don't change your mind while under an anesthetic. You are out of it. The patient is not conscious. That's the point of anesthesia. If you're going to change your mind it's done before surgery not during. The way the process works is the surgeon sits down with the patient prior to the surgery and discusses the extent of the consent form. At least that's what is supposed to occur.

THE DIAGNOSIS - PREJUDICE BROUGHT ABOUT ON BY TERMINAL IGNORANCE

It's interesting that you would condemn the patient, excuse the doctor, claim a State Board of Medicine has falsely accused the surgeon and yet not one of you who is critical of the patient knows the facts.

Do you see anything wrong with that mindset? Would you care if it were applied to you?

Main Entry: Prejudice

1prej...u...dice

Pronunciation:

\'pre-j?-d?s\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin praejudicium previous judgment, damage, from prae- + judicium judgment — more at judicial

Date: 13th century

1: injury or damage resulting from some judgment or action of another in disregard of one's rights ; especially : detriment to one's legal rights or claims

2 a (1): preconceived judgment or opinion

2 a (2): an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge b: an instance of such judgment or opinion

c: an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics.

synonyms see predilection

THE TREATMENT – READ, THINK AND LEARN ABOUT AMERICA

I'd suggest you visit a library and read a good book on why this country was founded. You should begin with the Bill of Rights and the United States Constitution. Read about trial by jury and evidence.

And here is your first assignment.

Who was Martin Niemoller?

What famous poem did he write?

Where was he when he wrote it?

Why does it remind me of you?

Original

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

Then they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
I did not protest;
I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
I was not a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out for me.

Didn't your mothers or Sunday school teachers teach you to do unto others as you would have them do unto you?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Steve Lombardi

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on July 23, 2009 (boomark / email).