A Florida doctor has decided he doesn't want to treat Democrats, at least those who voted for Barack Obama. Florida urologist Jack Cassell posted a sign on his office door telling those voters to go away. "If you voted for Obama ... seek urologic care elsewhere. Changes to your health care begin right now, not in four years."William Allen, professor of bioethics, law and medical professionalism at the University of Florida's College of Medicine said that Cassell's sign is pushing the limits of professionalism.
Allen said doctors cannot refuse patients on the basis of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or disability, but political preference is not one of the legally protected categories specified in civil-rights law. By insisting he does not quiz his patients about their politics and has not turned away patients based on their vote, the doctor is "trying to hold onto the nub of his ethical obligation," Allen said.No big loss really. Vitals.com, which rates doctors via patient rankings, says Cassell has a 1 out of 4 star ranking. It seems that it might be a good idea to avoid him anyway; he might snip the wrong tube.
"But this is pushing the limit," he said.
Of course, Jack Cassell did backtrack as knowledge of this reached the public. "I'm not turning anybody away — that would be unethical," he told the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday. "But if they read the sign and turn the other way, so be it."
Right, sure. At any rate, there are a couple of things that Jack Cassell is forgetting in his (modern) Hippocratic Oath. They include:
- I will respect the privacy of my patients (which means you shouldn't be able to ask, even in an implied manner, who they voted for)[...]
- I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings (not just certain voters), those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.
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