Reply #15: It might be smart to know your doctor's politics/moralities...

[Tesha]

It might be smart to know your doctor's politics/moralities
ahead of time rather than having this come as a shock
to you.

One way to broach that conversation is to bring your doctor
a copy of your "advance directives" and "living will". A
fundy whacko doctor will probably have a strong reaction
to any sensible advance directive or living will, especially
if, for example, it designates your same-sex or unmarried
partner as the person holding the medical Power of Attorney
for you.

For women, another way to sound out your doc might be to
make it obvious that one of the reasons you'll be coming
to her is for contraceptive services, and if your chosen
method should fail, you'd certainly expect that she can
provide you (or steer you towards) abortion services or
whatver alternative you feel is appropriate at that time.

For men, you might inquire about this doctor's feelings
towards vasectomies.

Except perhaps on an emergency basis, there's no reason
why you should do ANY business with the religiously
insane, and this includes folks whose business is providing
you with medical services.

Tesha

P.S.: We always thought Mr. Tesha's GP was pretty much
"all right", but we still got a pleasant surprise when
we ran into him at a local peace rally :) Out of context
like that, I didn't recognize him right away, but Mr.
Tesha sure did and made a point of saying hello.