Do The Right Thing

So far, this blog has been about different fertility topics.  Today, I need to vent just a little bit.  I was raised that you treat others the way that you would want to be treated and that you do the right thing no matter what.  I have tried to live my life in this manner, but lately I feel like part of a dying breed.  Does anyone else still believe in the Golden Rule?

A patient recently had the company she works for treat her badly.  They sent out a memo that said that her insurance would cover IVF treatment, when it really did not.  She was ready to start, when we discovered the error.  The HR person who had sent out the wrong info, told her it was just a "clerical error" and no big deal.  Another woman had a friend who had volunteered to carry her baby for her, as this woman had medical problems that would have made pregnancy a life-threatening stituation.  It was an amazingly wonderful thing to do.  Apparently the friend changed her mind, though.  Instead of admitting that she didn't want to do it, she refused to return phone calls or talk to the woman.  The worst, however, and what got me up on this soapbox, was this example:  a patient had a doctor tell her that her only option was IVF and, if she tried to do anything else, he would call her insurance company and tell them that she was undergoing medically unadvisable treatment.  Well, I don't think it was her only option.  Even if he truly believed it was, threatening patients with trying to cut off their health insurance is most certainly not doing the right thing!

So here is my plea and my pledge.  I know times are tough these days.  It feels like it is "everyone for themselves", but that's no excuse.  We should still treat eachother with kindness and decency.  So, please, let's try to do the right thing.  I promise that I will do my best to treat everyone with dignity and care, as I would want to be treated.  I promise that I will try to do the right thing at all times, even when no one is looking.  I hope you will too.