Abortion and the Bible opinion from Texas

An echo Christian opinion published in the Houston Chronicle. 

"On abortion, we must listen to doctors and patients."

What would Jesus do?

Regarding “Since the fall of Roe v. Wade, our patients are afraid. And so are we. | Opinion,” (July 8): The doctors who wrote this essay only scratched the surface of the suffering going on privately due to Texas’s abortion bans. 

As someone who counseled patients in a well-woman clinic before Roe was overturned, I have an idea how current legal restrictions would have made complicated and tragic situations even worse.


As a Christian, I know that the Bible cannot be used as a basis for these laws (for example, life begins at breath per Genesis 2; Ezekiel 37, and not conception or heartbeat, and Exodus 21:22-25 demonstrates that “Thou shalt not kill” does not apply). Jesus said nothing about abortion, but He did condemn those who do not care for the sick.

Texans and all voters must ask ourselves, "do we let politicians override doctors and their patients❓", or leave the care to those who are qualified❓

From Kim Batchelor, in Dallas Texas

Thomas Eric Duncan was young he was a Christian he even had an American sounding name

Grief is widespread throughout the Texas Presbyterian Hospital community and in Dallas, after the caregivers tried and failed to save the life of Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan. 

This is very sad. Mr. Duncan's death at 42 years old is a sentinel event in the history of Texas Presbyterian Hospital and another mark in the Dallas history timeline, as though anyone needs reminding of November 22, 1963.

It's difficult to understand why Mr. Duncan didn't respond to state of the art life support interventions to help him withstand the Ebola virus and recover from the illness. Undoubtedly, his inability to rally, given the intense intervention he eventually received, is a dangerous indication of just how ravaged his body was by the Ebola virus, by the time he was diagnosed. 

Certainly, given how infectious he was at the time of his diagnosis, there's a high risk of others being infected as a result of the lapse of time between the onset of his Ebola symptoms and when he was placed in quarantine for treatment.

Mr. Duncan was the first patient with Ebola to die in the US, but he became infected in Liberia. Yet, he broke the stereotype of the African who becomes ill with Ebola. He had a very American name ie, "Duncan", and he was obviously a Christian, evidenced by the family's Baptist Church pastor, who counseled the grieving relatives after providing notification of his death.  

In my opinion, Mr. Duncan's death by Ebola as well as the other Americans who are recovering from it after being flown home, breaks the stereotype of what many Americans believe are victims of this virus. 

First of all, four other Americans who had (one still has) Ebola are Caucasians. 

Mr. Duncan was certainly a young, handsome African man who worked for FedEx, or some international mail delivery company. He didn't appear to live in a primitive village and he dressed well. So, now we have evidence of how Ebola is a toxic and highly contagious disease. Everyone, regardless of race or socio economic status, who comes in contact with its victims are at great risk for becoming ill with the virus.

I'm grieving for Mr. Duncan's family and for all of the caregivers who valiantly tried in vain to save his life. 

Although Texas Presbyterian made an error when Mr. Duncan's treatment was delayed by administrative, or some other kind of glitch, the fact is, many people worked hard to cure him from the Ebola virus, and they are grieving because of his death.  

Now, Ebola is an American disease. It's urgent that Texas and all public health personnel continue to be on high alert to prevent any spread of this virus.

In Texas, this means anyone presenting in any emergency department with a fever, regardless of the origin, should receive immediate care - regardless of what their reimbursement or immigrant status may be. Therefore, Governor Perry, it seems like the right public health initiative, to reduce the Ebola panic now rampant in Dallas, is to be sure all Texans and immigrants are provided access to urgent care, regardless of their ability to pay.

Ebola response - follow the money

Ebola patients who find their way to early treatment appear to have a better chance of survival than those whose symptoms are already acute by the time they reach medical facilities. Even more of a correlation between Ebola and survival appears to be access to money to reimburse for state of the art treatment.

Fortunately, several Ebola patients who were American caregivers in Africa were able to survive the virus because they were air transported to US hospitals where preparations were made to care for them, in anticipation of the acuity of their illnesses. Their transportation and treatment were obviously expensive. 

Air transport of one ill patient to an exclusive hospital for the purpose of treating a disease, heretofore not seen before, is expensive. Nevertheless, these three particular patients recovered from the Ebola virus because, apparently, they received state of the art curative treatment. 

Evidently, the groups who sponsored these infected medical professionals when they were in Africa also paid for their recovery from Ebola.  

Of course, the Liberian man who was diagnosed with Ebola in Texas, named Mr. Duncan, didn't have a sponsor to pay for his care, when he presented with a fever at the Texas Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. Instead of being immediately placed in isolation, Mr. Duncan was sent home. More than likely, Mr. Duncan was sent home because he didn't have enough money to pay for isolation care. More than likely, if Mr. Duncan had been sponsored by an international relief group, rather than visiting his family, he would have received isolation care immediately. Although my "more than likely" hypotheses are speculative, they're more than likely correct.

Mr. Duncan's health has deteriorated since he was finally admitted to Texas Presbyterian, after being sent home after his first visit. Meanwhile, between the time he first asked for care and when he was eventually admitted, dozens of people were exposed to his Ebola virus, meaning it's more than likely that those individuals are at risk for becoming ill. It's very difficult for me, as a nurse, to believe that Mr. Duncan's illness hasn't already infected at least one other person who he was in contact with while exhibiting a fever and symptoms of Ebola, before he was isolated. Incubation time for the virus is up to 21 days, or three full weeks.

Hopefully, Texas Presbyterian administrators should forget about who's paying for Mr. Duncan's intensive care while he's in isolation, but worry a lot about keeping him alive, whatever the cost. Otherwise, the alternative to Mr. Duncan surviving the Ebola virus ravaging his system is the potential for an infectious disease nightmare.  

Obviously, Mr. Duncan's care is expensive and more than likely much of its cost will never be reimbursed. In the event anyone in contact with Mr. Duncan becomes an Ebola patient, it's more than likely their care won't be fully reimbursed, either.

Texas is in a difficult situation regarding Mr. Duncan being the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the US. The Lone Star State of Texas is now the lonely ground zero site for Ebola in the U.S.  This is an embarrassment for the US and particularly for Texas. Nevertheless, the reality is, more than likely, if Mr. Duncan had money to pay for his care, much of this chaos and anxiety about Ebola in the US would have been preventable because he'd have been urgently isolated the minute he was assessed for being at risk. Yet, he wasn't aggressively treated, more than likely, because he couldn't pay for it.