Study Finds Doctors' Moral Views May Affect Patient Care
According to a study published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, one in seven doctors surveyed said they would not mention a procedure they believed to be morally wrong to patients as a viable treatment option. Fifty-two percent of the doctors in the study said they opposed abortion, and 42 percent opposed prescribing birth control to 14- to 16-year-olds without parental approval. The study, conducted by University of Chicago researchers, is the first to examine how the religious or moral beliefs of physicians might affect patients' care—especially when dealing with abortion, teen birth control, and emergency contraception.
Labels: Contraception, parental involvement, studies
