As my wife and I returned from church on Sunday, Tank and Jeep were so excited to greet us. I asked what happened? Tank said, “We didn’t watch Meet the Press today. We were reading the newspaper instead. There was a story about a proposed bill in the legislature that wanted to stop doctors from talking to patients about gun safety in the home.” Jeep asked if this meant the vet can’t ask them about guns? I then read the article.
The bill would make it illegal for doctors to talk with parents about gun safety in the home. This bill has had many pediatricians upset. Many parents, especially with their first child, go through a learning experience. As the child grows and explores, there are many times children will get into things you would never expect.
Even if you tell your children not to do something, they will still explore when you are not looking. Unfortunately, there are many children killed and hurt by parents being careless with their guns or not knowing what should be done with a gun or several guns in the house. I know, as a teacher, I constantly had to remind the students of dangers of running in hallways. Even those that got hurt, still forgot sometimes.
But according to our legislators, there is a more important issue here than child safety. The representative that introduced the bill doesn’t want citizens to feel intruded upon whenever they go see a doctor. The bill is also to protect doctors from the possibility that there might be a federal law in the future that would force them to ask patients about gun ownership. One representative is worried that the doctors will keep track of which patients keep guns.
When I first read the article, I laughed at how paranoid these legislators are. But then I started thinking about this some more. I went online to see what representatives thought this was good legislation. There was a list of many representatives that signed on to co-sponsor this bill. That is when I was disappointed. I saw Stephen Goldfinch, my representative, has signed as a co-sponsor. I have read some of his articles in the newspapers, and he appeared to be a fairly intelligent representative.
Mr. Goldfinch, a very large majority of people in this district are fully capable of not answering a doctor’s question, if they do not want to answer. They also know how to find another doctor if they do not agree with the one that might ask about guns. I researched this bill, but I have not looked at all of the proposed bills. How many more bills are there to solve possible problems of the future? Are there any plans for a bill to regulate when we might have flying cars?
Also Mr. Goldfinch, you are constantly looking to save tax dollars. How much are you representatives spending on foolish legislation, such as, the bill to regulate what doctors ask a patient? For a change, Mr. Goldfinch, stop the foolishness and think more about child safety, than stopping a doctor from doing their job.
Edward Morgan
Pawleys Island
Re: Home birth could
become illegal
Editor’s note: The writer’s letter is in response to a letter published in the March 15, 2013 issue of the Georgetown Times.
I’m a grandmother and originally from Pennsylvania.
Who and why would South Carolina lawmakers ever object to midwives?
My friend is a midwife as well as having her children the same. I was lucky enough to be at her youngest daughter’s birth. It was the most amazing and wonderful experience of my life.
Her daughter is a young woman now and married herself. And this experience was both healthy and less stressful than other births I have seen. As a LPN and being present at my 16-year-old’s birth (granddaughter) where even though at hospital she almost died. So yes, they have valued points of worry, but if a healthy woman having an easy pregnancy wants to have her child at home, let it be.
I think as a health system we need to remember only 100 to 150 years ago most women had home births and problems were minimal and we have had many healthy people.
Myself personally, I was a forced home birth being my mother had fast labor and delivered before anyone could get help.
So please, let us women decide what is best. As long as we are healthy and no serious problems during pregnancy, let it be our choice.
Alice Burk
Murrells Inlet
Opinions that appear on this page in Letters to the Editor or in columns do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.
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