25 05 2007

Christian doctor denies treatment to sick child.

Posted by: Allvaldr in Religion, tags: ,

This news is somewhat old, but I recently found out about it. The original story seems to have gone already from the KGet site it originated on, but at the moment it was newer, it has even been on the Daily Show apparently.

A tattooed couple brought their child to the doctor’s office because she was having an ear infection. He refused to treat the child, because the tattoos on the parents were against his religious beliefs.

The doctor said he is just following his beliefs, creating a Christian atmosphere for his patients.

Tasha Childress said it’s discrimination.

She said Dr. Gary Merrill wouldn’t treat her daughter for an ear infection because Tasha, the mother, has tattoos.

The writing is on the wall—literally: “This is a private office. Appearance and behavior standards apply.”

For Dr. Gary Merrill of Christian Medical Services, that means no tattoos, body piercings, and a host of other requirements—all standards Merrill has set based upon his Christian faith.

“She had to go that entire night with her ear infection with no medicine because he has his policy,” Tasha Childress said.

Merrill won’t speak on camera, but said based on his values and beliefs, he has standards that he expects in his office.

Quote’s source.

My two main problems with this are:

  • Where in the bible does it state doctors can’t treat tattooed people’s children?
  • Has this doctor never taken the Hippocratic Oath?

Then, lastly, if this doctor really is christian, why is he above the following bible verses?

  • Come to me, all you who suffer and are burdened and I will refresh you. Matthew 11:28
  • He that says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness still. 1 John 2:9
  • Do not judge that you may not be judged. For with what judgement you judge, you shall be judged. Matthew 7:1

I think this shows quite well why modern christianity as a religion is as screwed up as it can be. Seeing how he claims to be a good christian, yet refuses to follow the bible, I think I know why he doesn’t follow the Oath of Hippocrates as a doctor (a practice btw which would get his license revoked in Belgium, and I believe in most civilised countries). He probably got confused and swore the Oath of Hypocrit instead – like most so-called christians.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 25th, 2007 at 12:13 pm and is filed under Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Christian doctor denies treatment to sick child.”
  1. Db0 says:
    May 25th, 2007 at 7:06 pm - Edit

    Aren’t doctor’s supposed to take the Hippocratic oath?

    Not only that but this is another example why religion should not be tolerated. Imagine what would happen if I refused to treat a patient because he was not dressed in pirate outfit when I believed in the flying spaghetti monster. How about a Muslim doctor refusing to treat a woman-patient because she is not wearing a burka.

    Where the fuck is the limit?

  2. Chad says:
    April 4th, 2010 at 8:24 pm - Edit

    This is beyond disgusting & the so called “Christian” doctor should be stripped of his license & put on trial for gross negligence. However, someone here said this a reason why Christianity should not be tolerated. What a load of Bullshit. There are literally thousands of Christian doctors that work for free. Many of whom travel to third world countries to provide medical care for those who otherwise would not have had it. And what about Saint Judes? How many childrens lives have been saved (for free, mind you) by this “Christian” organization? Again, while the example noted in the topic is inexcusable, it is far from the norm. This only further proves the lack of objectivity on the part of “some” atheists. Pick one negative example & use it to try and stereotype an entire group of millions.

  3. Vaughn Quickel says:
    July 6th, 2010 at 2:47 pm - Edit

    That rss alternative on your site below is impressive, you will need to tell folks about it with your next post. I haven’t noted it with the very first couple of times, now I’m making use of it each and every morning to verify on any updates. I’m on a definitely slow dial-up connection in Kentucky and it’s fairly baffling to sit there and wait for such a long time ’til the page loads… but hey, I just observed your rss page and added it to the Google Reader and voil? – I’m constantly up-to-date! Nicely pal, retain up the beneficial perform and make that rss button a little bigger so that other people can appreciate that as well :-P

Leave a Reply