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| Krista and Jami Contreras, and their baby. |
A lesbian couple in Michigan says a pediatrician has refused to care for their infant because of their sexual orientation.
Krista and Jami Contreras said Dr. Vesna Roi of Eastlake Pediatrics in Roseville, Michigan, had initially agreed to be the pediatrician to their daughter, Bay. But after "much prayer," Roi had a change of heart.
When the couple brought their 6-day-old baby into the office for a wellness check-up, another doctor told them that Roi would not be seeing them after all, according to the Detroit Free Press.
"I was completely dumbfounded," Krista, who is the baby's biological mother, told the newspaper. "We just looked at each other and said, 'Did we hear that correctly?'"
The other doctor did offer the couple his services so apparently there are still some doctors who understand what the Hippocratic Oath is all about.
Doctor Roi, by the way, also offered a rather lame explanation for her behavior.
Apparently it was God's fault:
"After much prayer following your prenatal, I felt that I would not be able to develop the personal patient doctor relationship that I normally do with my patients," wrote Roi, who has an average of three out of five stars at Healthgrades and four out of five on Vitals based on limited reviews.
Roi apologized for not telling them in person, and said they were welcome in the clinic, but that Bay would have to be seen by the other doctor at the practice.
"Please know that I believe that God gives us free choice and I would never judge anyone based on what they do with that free choice," Roi wrote. "Again, I am sorry for the hurt and angry feelings that were created by this. I hope you can accept my apology."
So to be clear the doctor prayed about it, received some sort of clarity, and then refused to take this infant on as a patient.
Sounds like she believes God told her to reject this child to me.
Wow, and here I thought that the Christian god was all about love and acceptance.
Sorry to be back again G., but nowhere in the original story was it stated that the pediatrician involved was Christian, although I'm sad to say that these days, that's a not unreasonable conclusion to jump to.
ReplyDeleteYou are a self centered American twit who is mistaken to assume that you are entitled to healthcare and education. You are NOT entitled to take your next breath.
DeleteShe released a statement stating that she is a born again Christian
Deletehttp://www.wxyz.com/news/doctor-issues-statement-after-refusing-to-treat-baby-of-lesbian-couple
She is a born again Christian.
Deletehttp://www.wxyz.com/news/doctor-issues-statement-after-refusing-to-treat-baby-of-lesbian-couple
'He' is actually a she.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.eastlakepeds.com/meet-the-doctors/vesna-l-roi--do.aspx
He is probably a gay man on the DL.
ReplyDeleteThis family should leave the practice all together - doctors take care being on call. What will he do if the parents cal the sick line when he is on call? Refuse to treat?? Sounds like the doctor needs to go. Other MDs in his practice need to view this asshole as a liability right now.
"Suffer not the children to come unto me"
ReplyDelete--some 33-year-old single male desert-dwelling virgin
Yeah, remember when Jesus refused to heal the man who was gay? No, neither do I.
DeleteThe local medical board ought to take look at this doctor. If he is hearing voices telling him what patients to accept and what patients to deny, he may have a serious mental illness. Best that the couple has a new pediatrician that they can trust.
ReplyDeleteWant to drive? Get trained, pass a test, and get a license!
ReplyDeleteWant to be a cop, lawyer, doctor, veterinarian, engineer, IT tech, electrician, builder, or pharmacist?
Same thing
So why in fuck are we just letting anyone pop out 19 kids and counting?
You are bringing another human/spirit being into life, with all that responsibility for the heath, and well being that entails.
People wonder why I (wish) we could have prospective parents pass a written and oral exam, prove financial solvency, and get a license to have kids
These two are poster children for feckless idiots breeding like dogs, with the public left to pick up the tab
oops, posted this on wrong article, Gryphen, please delete. Apologies
DeleteActually, I think he made the right move. He realized he could not personally provide the infant with the best care. He apologized and arranged for another doctor to take over. It's not as if he just denied care to the baby and left them stranded in the cold.
ReplyDelete"Dr." Roi is a D. O. -- osteopath, not a physician.
ReplyDeleteHer patient surveys show 1.5 pts. out of 5 in patient satisfaction with her care.
The hospital in which she works doesn't have great grades, either,
This couple would be well-advised to thank their lucky stars that "god" told "Dr." Roi she couldn't treat their child.
They should run, not walk, to a certified M.D. with high patient satisfaction.
Sounds like "Dr." Roi isn't all that great a practitioner, no matter what her personal beliefs.
A DO is a fully trained and licensed doctor and passes the same licensing exams as an MD. See the Mayo Clinic blurb below.
DeleteShe may be a "doctor" but she's not a physician.
DeleteDOs will always be considered second-class.
Whatever your opinion, her patients give her 1.5 out of 5 pts. That should say it all.
Screw you 3:47 and 7:8. I have ALWAYS had much better care and results with DO's nstead of MD's, who do little more than throw pills at any health issue.
DeleteThe doctor is female. No one knows if she claims to be Christian. However, saying that ' God gives us free choice and I would never judge anyone based on what they do with that free choice' is obviously not true. She most certainly DID judge these two women and their baby based on what the two women did with their 'free choice'.
ReplyDeleteArchie Butt
"I would never judge anyone based on what they do with that free choice"
ReplyDelete--------------------------
Well, the stupid damn bigoted judgmental fool did exactly that. Judge them.
"Wow, and here I thought that the Christian god was all about love and acceptance. "
------------------------------------
The Christian god is. The christianist god, no.
She is also claiming that sexual orientation is a choice. The baby is probably better off with an intelligent doctor.
So, if a man raped your daughter, you would never judge him based on his freedom of choice? If a person stole your money, you would never judge them based on their freedom to choose? We judge immoral behavior all the time. For example, in a court of law. Thou shall not judge, means not to judge the final destination of a soul after death since no one knows for certain. However, we are required to judge the morality of an act. In fact, you are doing so right now, moron, by judging Dr. Roi's decision. Your lack of reasoning skills is truly astonishing.
DeleteRoi is a "she".
ReplyDeleteYeah, somehow I missed that.
DeleteThanks. Fixed now.
Hello Gryphen,
DeleteWhat is you are wrong about what you are doing here? Just, what if?
When I was a kid there was a pediatrician in our town who only wore gloves when he examined black children. After some cross talk between parents . . . the black parents found another pediatrician. I guess this man figured he could deal with us, take our parent's money but never actually let his hands touch our skin.
ReplyDeleteThere are a whole lot of heinous acts so called christians perpetuate in the name of jesus---but to refuse to care for
an infant or child because they are obsessed about the parent's sexuality . . . .
Disgusting.
Having gone to med school this woman is supposed to believe in science and physiology and doing no harm. The idea that she has placed a judgment on a child because of teeming religious homophobia to me seems reason enough to pull her license. In an emergency situation would she refuse to treat a child with gay parents?
Next stop---some inbred christian will refuse to take care of
a child with muslim parents. It has probably already happened.
Also, it doesn't matter what religion this woman is.
DeleteChristian, Muslim, Hindu . . . .Religious intolerance
is unacceptable.
Jesus said to "love thine enemy". This guy can't even bring himself to love a baby. Another excellent Christian exemplar.
ReplyDeleteAnd this doctor is still allowed to, well, call herself a doctor ?
ReplyDeleteBut that Doctor would have done anything he could if that couple wanted to abort that baby! Now that it is out of womb, breathing and living....NAHHHHH!!!
ReplyDeleteBut that Doctor would have done anything he could if that couple wanted to abort that baby! Now that it is out of womb, breathing and living....NAHHHHH!!!
ReplyDeleteAnother Christian fraud!! He's probably a Republican too!
ReplyDeleteProbably?
DeleteI understand the Hippocratic Oath, but if it were me, I wouldn't want this doctor treating my baby or anyone in my family if I knew those were his personal feelings/viewpoint.
ReplyDeleteI would avoid that doctor like the plague. Any physician that would let his religious beliefs interfere with his doctor/patient relationship is not to be trusted. The couple's baby is better off being cared for by another doctor; someone who can practice his/her medical expertise without having to consult whatever supreme entity they may worship.
ReplyDeleteSo much craziness here. I suppose the theory that these ignorant people really do care more about the unborn fetus than the child is true. That doctor shirked his duty to care for a human being. I wonder, if the birth mother had wanted or needed an abortion, would this doctor have approved of that? Of course not. But what if the mother was in serious condition and about to lose the baby, would he treat her? Or if the baby was in need of urgent care, would he pass on that too?
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable. I thought Jesus loved all, Dr Roi. They should yank your license.
Mildred
Also, why would anyone with that strong a religious belief want to be a doctor? Isn't that going against "God's will"? I'm still fuming over this
DeleteMildred
I'm sure the AMA will have something to say. As stated in the article, the "Doctor" took an oath. Thats why they take oaths, you swear before God to uphold the sanctity of the profession...God gave him a pass on this so called oath. They are better off, God did them a favor
ReplyDeleteThere are more and more states that allow this behavior. It started und gwb (sic). Any doctor/pharmacist/nurse etc can refuse service - even in life-and-death situations - because of their religious convictions. I believe SOTUS ruled on this within the last few years...
DeleteAnd Obama took and oath to defend the Constitution. How's that working out?
DeleteHe's doing a great job, 8:32. We still have the same Constitutional rights we've always had.
DeleteHow come insurance companies are covering "well baby" exams with osteopaths?
ReplyDeleteWhy wouldn't they? From the Mayo Clinic:
Delete"A doctor of osteopathic medicine (D.O.) is a fully trained and licensed doctor who has attended and graduated from a U.S. osteopathic medical school. A doctor of medicine (M.D.) has attended and graduated from a conventional (allopathic) medical school.
The major difference between osteopathic and allopathic doctors is that some osteopathic doctors provide manual medicine therapies, such as spinal manipulation or massage therapy, as part of their treatment.
After medical school, both M.D.s and D.O.s must complete residency training in their chosen specialties. They must also pass the same licensing examination before they can treat people and prescribe medications."
Why should the baby be punished for its parents' orientation? I hope every parent who has a child attending this practice votes with their wallet.
ReplyDeleteSadly, every RWNJ around will flock to her.
Not if they don't accept Medicaid.
DeleteI have the same problem with a pharmacist who refused to fill the prescription for a woman's birth control or morning after pills. If you choose to be a pharmacist, filling prescriptions would be the most important part of the job. Will that pharmacist also deny medication to someone with HIV? a sexually transmitted disease if the person is unmarried?
ReplyDeleteWill that same pharmacist refuse to fill an rx for Viagra?!
DeleteI wouldn't bring my child to anyone in that practice. If they welcome this person as a colleague, there's something wrong with all of them.
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly what that couple did. They chose a different doctor in a different praxis.
DeleteUnfortunately, this is happening more and more all over the country, since doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, pharmacists, etc, all can claim religious exemption. (But soon parents cannot claim any religious exemption for medically forced treatment of their children...)
ReplyDeleteHow soon?
DeleteThis has been on the local news for two days now.(not much new when it is -15 dgrees out). The doctor refused the child as a patient for religious reasons, however nothing has been mentioned about which religion.
ReplyDeleteShe also into homeopathic/holistic stuff.
There are no laws in Michigan to prevent discrimination base on sexual orientation, so the couple cannot sue and since it was not an emergency situation the doctor can refuse care.
Interestingly enough the woman "hitting" a lot of the news programs supporting the doctor on religious beliefs is African American, trying to obscure the issue that gay marriage is not a real marriage. Wonder if she would change her tune if they doctor didn't want to treat African Americans based on religious beliefs.
Personally I think this couple should be happy the doctor told them up front, for all they know the doctor maybe making her medical decisions based on her religious beliefs also, for example no vaccinations because it isn't in the holy book.
But the doctor did not, in any way "tell them up front". She accepted them, , knew they were a gay couple, did prenatal checkup, and told them to make an appointment with her after the home delivery. When they had the baby, and made the appointment, no one told the couple that their doctor was not available until they were actually in the exam room the day of the appointment. The doctor who they had previously seen, and with whom they had the appointment, was not there, she had apparently asked a co-worker to tell the mothers that she had prayed on it and could not see them because they were lesbian. In fact, according to the mothers, the new, unfamiliar doctor who did see them, told them that the original doctor said she wouldn't even come to work that day so she wouldn't run into them. Subsequently, 4 months letter, the doctor wrote the letter to the mothers, after the situation was being disclosed on Facebook. So I agree with you that the family is lucky, but the doctor was never "up front" with them, they never saw her again after the prenatal, and after she told them to make the appointment for well baby. (All based on the reports/videos of the 2 mothers.
DeleteSpeaking as a physician (who is ashamed of this woman) I don't think she did anything wrong that would require disciplinary action or violated the Hippocratic Oath.
ReplyDeleteShe transferred the patient's care to another doctor. Didn't leave the baby hanging or anything. What will be a problem is if she's in a group practice, and they cover call for each other, she may get an urgent phone call from these parents about their sick baby, or god forbid, be called to the ER to admit the sick child. She'll have to treat the child then, or find another doctor to answer the phone call.
The doctor-patient relationship is like a marriage ... if one partner doesn't want to be in it, it's probably best to end it there rather than pretend everything is rosy. Granted, her reason for ending the relationship is a little repulsive, but at least this way the child gets the care of a dedicated physician.
She did have a committment to the patient (potential patient, at that point) but she appropriately transferred care to a competent physician when she decided to end it.
And don't believe what your read on those "Healthgrade" type websites. I've had patients transfer over from "5-star" doctors who weren't taking care of multiple medical problems, not even getting their BP under control. And I've known "3-star" doctors who give superlative care. One "5-star" I know, who's a pill pushing, bill padding, unnecessary test ordering quack who doesn't follow standard medical guidelines got his rating because he asked his narcotic dependent patients to go online and give him a good review. I had one patient from this guy who was astonished I listened to a heart because "5-star" hadn't laid a stethescope on him in 2 years!
Give the lady a break. Personally her behavior is revolting, but professionally it's fine.
She deserves non. She's a despicable human and an unethical doc. Plus, a pretty lousy religionist.
DeleteI think that they and their beautiful baby dodged a bullet there.
ReplyDeleteAfter Marriage Equality become law across America this is what is up next for the LGBT community. They are going to try to make it legal to discriminate against the LGBT community because of their religiously held beliefs.It's going to quite the shit show.
ReplyDeleteANyone else writing the state of Michigan and the AMA to revoke this doctor's license?
ReplyDeleteGryphen is like a lot of other idiots in this country. Was this an emergency situation? No. Were there not thousands of other doctors to treat the baby? Yes. Any educated person with a knowledge Theology knows that FIRST comes GOD, THEN your neighbor. Helping you neighbor at the expenses of God's Commandments is wrong. Americans are NOT ENTITLED to healthcare and education.. These ARE NOT rights. The Constitution gave us the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That means you should be free to live your life without having to worry about being assaulted or physically hurt. It does not mean that you are entitled to receive services from whomever you want whenever you want. You have been breed by the government to have this self centered way of thinking. This was a unique situation. If a gay person needs a tooth pulled, that is one thing; but having to provide care month after month for a newborn are actions that show you support homosexuals adopting children which many people in this country do not. They believe that there are things more important like the soul and avoiding Hell. Jesus spoke of Hell over 30 times so you absolutely cannot be Christian if you deny this. Jesus did not heal the evil King Herod or Judas of his greed. He certainly DID NOT help anyone who was not WILLING to REPENT. Most of you certainly do not understand the Gospel message. We, True Christians, not watered down compromisers, will fight you until our last dying breaths. Financial collapse will INDEED occur over the next couple years and the time for you liberals to have such high regard for your evil opinions will come to an end. In other words, screw you.
ReplyDelete