Dr X began by assuming I had a boyfriend if I wanted to go on the pill, when in fact my relationship status is none of his business or anybody else’s. He didn’t seem to understand the fact that this is the 21st century and my contraception and my relationship status are two completely unrelated things. He then went on to declare that “co habiting” (he made little quotation marks with his hands) couples had a higher rate of break ups than married couples. He also threw in the fact that ‘fellas’ often experience so much they don’t know what to settle for. Aside from the fact that I’m not something to settle for, it really didn’t seem to register that I was having sex because I wanted to – not because my imaginary boyfriend did.
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I’m generally stubborn to a fault, but in coming up against this wall of judgmental criticism so unexpectedly, I just gave in and left the surgery. His parting words were “I hope I’ve given you something to think about” I replied rather tartly “Not at all”. I was in complete shock for the first while, with a thin veil of rage.
When I read this account my first thought was that he shouldn't be able to do that. It had to be illegal. I asked my family doctor and apparently a doctor can legally refuse to prescribe you the pill or morning-after pill on moral or religious grounds. They must, however, recommend you to a doctor that will give it to you. My GP said that, off the top of her head, she could think of two doctors in my home county of Mayo that are widely known to refuse to prescribe the morning after pill because of their religious views.
It seems very very wrong to me that in 2013 a doctor is allowed to force his outdated religious views on a woman and tell her that she shouldn't be having sex unless she wants to be making babies, and if she does have sex, it's up to her to deal with whatever fate befalls her. Because that's really what they're saying when they refuse to prescribe these pills.
