Shocked and or Appalled

While reading White Like Me, I came across a disturbing tid-bit of news. A man and his wife had traveled to the ER of St. Thomas Hospital. The wife was in desperate need of heart surgery. This was the third hospital that they had gone to that night. The reason behind the hospital jumps lies in bigotry.

The husband had a specific demand that no black person be allowed in the OR. His reasoning is that he did not want a black person to see his wife naked.





 Whhhhhhaaaaaaatttt???!

As absurd and disturbing as this request was this put the hospital in a precarious situation. Do they honor a clearly racist request, or chance this woman's life to her husband's wanderings?One doctor ultimately agreed, and the surgery was performed under the conditions stated.

Not surprisingly, the Hospital took a lot of heat for allowing this to happen. The doctor, and the Hospital apologized, and the media slowly subsided.

The question that was posed to the Hospital troubled me. What do you do in that situation? I did what I do anytime I have a medical question, I ask my Mom.

My mother is a medical professional of 25+ years, she generally has all the answers to any medical question I pose- administrative or otherwise. Her response put it in a bit more perspective. I asked her if the hospital should have gotten in trouble for their actions. I mean, a woman's life was on the line.

She explained that they deserved what they got because what they did was unethical. The husband's request was unethical, and to honor it was in turn unethical. She said that any of the hospitals he visited could have performed the procedure without his knowledge of the race of the surgeons. They could have just lied.

Given the situation, this does seem to be the route. But then it raises the question: Is it okay to lie for the greater good?

And who determines this good? Which raises one of the main problems within social change. How do you make decisions to heal the problems of the world when it could be at the expense of those you're trying to save?

This story is a metaphor, upon an enigma.....and my brain already hurts just thinking about it.