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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: August 2nd, 2023

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  • In the US, doctors are obligated to treat patients in immediate need of care (in a professional setting - an emergency department, for example - not just walking down a street.) They can’t discriminate against patients for non-clinically relevant reasons (race, gender identity, etc.) They CAN refuse care if they lack specific skills or the patient is “abusive.”

    HOWEVER, these are ethical obligations (I pulled that info from the American Medical Association’s Code of Medical Ethics.)

    You asked about legal obligations.

    I am not well versed in doctors’ legal duty of care - laws are not consistent across national and local jurisdictions.

    You also used the word “aid” so I am approaching it from an emergency context.

    In a professional setting, there are limited reasons a medical professional could refuse emergency care where the immediate outcome is death. Perhaps someone with more legal expertise could direct you - I’m only familiar with ethical constraints.













  • STORY TIME:

    I have one of the most expensive cats on earth.

    I recently paid ~$15,000 to have a pacemaker installed in my 4 year old shelter cat.

    She started getting very clumsy and I noticed her getting dazed more and more often. Once I brought her to the vet, I learned that she had a congenital heart condition and her heart was literally stopping for seconds on end causing her to pass out (literally dying in front of me for seconds at a time.)

    I couldn’t let her die. I adopted her during covid and could not have survived the pandemic without her.

    I am blessed in that I could afford something like that and it wasn’t even a question of whether to get her the procedure. I would have gone bankrupt if I had to choose.

    I hate that people will have to make that choice (it’s not even a choice as most people could never afford that) so after my pet insurance reimbursed me back ~$13,000, I donated it to the hospital as a grant specifically to be used towards any feline cardiac procedures that couldn’t be afforded.

    Every morning we sit together while I have my coffee and I thank the universe for letting her be there with me in that moment.