'AP' Erases the Line Dividing Perceived Objectivity
By Kevin Roeten (02/10/07)
For years the 'AP' has insisted that all their reporting is unbiased, and is almost completely 'objective' in every reporting technique. But an article penned by Linda Johnson(2/8/07) has erased that imaginary line of overt bias. It appeared in many papers which seem to purvey the same attitude as the highlighted writer. For those who don't believe it, that line has now been overtly crossed.
The article says “A disturbing[writer’s emphasis] number of doctors does not feel obligated to tell patients about medical options they oppose morally…” After a 40-word paragraph, it is ‘couched’ by ending words ‘…researchers say’. This is assumed to suffice for ‘objectivity’ of the article.
The whole article describes a survey of how 1,114 doctors might respond to a request in which a physician’s moral or religious beliefs might affect alleged treatment options. ‘Assumed’ medical procedures such as abortion and teen birth control seem to be considered by ‘AP’(and almost all mainstream media outlets) as medical treatments that should always be discussed. Never mind that each and every doctor has taken an oath to ‘do no harm’. Never mind that each procedure involves killing a human, at either a very early stage of development, or one known as ‘infanticide’ such as abortion or partial-birth abortion. Anyone ever ask someone who survived a possible abortion, what he/she would think if their parents had been successful with any of the above procedures?
The article refers to the ‘patient’s care’, but totally ignores any and all feelings of the aborted child as one of the patients. David Magnus(Director/Stanford Center of Biomedical Ethics) was quoted in the article as saying “That means that there are a lot of physicians out there who are not, in fact, doing the right thing.” The survey seems to show many believe that information is being withheld, and will not refer their patients to someone who will do the procedure.
Bottom line is that doctors are bound to their oath that they will not ‘kill’ one of their patients, or refer them to someone who does. Bravo to those doctors who have the guts to abide by their oath.
Kevin Roeten
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