Rels 300 / Nurs November 2014 Social Bias & Discrimination Reflective Journal #6: Social Bias & Discrimination

300/330 - appleby2 Your aptitude for personal and professional moral agency, insight and accountability depends on capacities to detect and address bias, discrimination and lack of empathy. Reflective journaling can assist with this task. How do reflective journals relate to our course objectives?

300/330 - appleby3 THE GLOBE AND MAIL – SEPTEMBER 20, 2011 “Canadian doctors are considering a policy that would bar obese women from trying to have babies through fertility treatments – provoking debate over whether the fat have the same reproductive rights as the thin.” The Ottawa Fertility Centre already turns away women with a Body Mass Index > 35 They DO NOT turn away women who smoke Some clinics DO turn away women who are over 40 Canadian MDs consider denying fertility treatments to obese women

300/330 - appleby4 Potential medical risks for women over 40, or for smokers: Reduced effectiveness of fertility drugs High blood pressure Risk of stroke Gestational diabetes Potential medical risks for obese women: Higher doses of fertility drugs High blood pressure Risk of stroke Gestational diabetes Do fertility interventions and reproductive technologies pose medical risks for women?

300/330 - appleby5 “Denying fertility treatments to obese women stigmatizes and discriminates against those most in need. Excess weight is itself a barrier to conceiving naturally, and obesity rates are rising” says another. If obese women are denied fertility treatments, does this represent an acceptable form of medical paternalism? “A patient doesn’t have the right to make a choice that’s going to be harmful to them,” says one expert.

300/330 - appleby6 Are you aware of other ways in which North American cultural attitudes demonstrate evidence of social discrimination? Do we live in a culture which demonstrates a social bias that stigmatizes or discriminates against obese persons?