Work and ABC

[JessicaCeleste]

I have a bit of a dilemma and could use some insight.

I work with adults with developmental disabilities and do occasional work at our Women’s Group Home. Four out of the five ladies who live at the GH are on birth control and 3 of them require the staff to dispense their BC (the other lady gets the monthly Depo shot).

The last thing I want to is be difficult, but I feel really uncomfortable when I have to give them their BC. Then again, it is my job. Should I just suck it up and do it?

Any advice?

 

[1ke]

You should discuss this with a trusted priest and/or moral theologian.

 

[Pug]

I think one feature that is important to consider here is, are these ladies capable of consent? That is, are they on birth control as a convenient way to deal with them getting involved in sexual encounters that the staff really ought to be preventing? It is important that no crime of lack of care for these ladies is taking place (to me, anyway). Also, if these ladies are able to consent, they are perhaps able to appreciate the idea of chastity, maybe.

Is your situation like being a nurse in a hospital and a woman is there for a week or two and you have to dispense birth control since she takes is regularly at home? Is the mental capacity the issue for you, or is it just the dispensing feature of your question? By “dispense” do you mean that you actively have to help her (want her) to swallow the pills?

And yes, do talk to a good priest about this issue, since you are unhappy about it, you could need some spiritual care. I’ve found that if I feel at all in turmoil about an issue that a priest is remarkably helpful (I don’t just mean confession).

 

[apricot_yogurt]

I hope these ladies have given their infomed consent to having these birth control medications.
The fact that it is administered by staff implies that they have not.
I worked with people with learning difficulties for some years. This sounds to me like abuse, particularly given the carcnogenic properties of many birth control concoctions. It certainly would cover up any sexual abuse.
What malady is this BC supposed to be curing? Is it perhaps for the convinience of the staff, rather than the benefit of the cared-for?

 

[JessicaCeleste]

The 5 women live at the group home permanently - they are quite established in our community and most of them have lived there for years and years. The staff provide 24 hour care

The majority of those women are mid - low functioning, meaning that they need a lot of assistance doing even the simplest tasks (toileting, eating, showering…etc etc). Out of the bunch, only 1 really has the capability of being out in the world on her own. When it’s time for meds, they get poured out into a tiny paper cup, and 4 of the 5 can take them by themselves (the other one requires us to feed her them in yogurt - post menopausal, so no bc for her)

I do know that some of the ladies there have a tendency to make poor choices and sleep with any man who shows them affection. As staff, we are not always able to prevent this.

The question of consent is murky. I’m sure the family and docors of these ladies haven’t given them any information other than the birth control will prevent them from having babies. Even if the implications were spelled out, I have to wonder how much of the information they would understand.

I think I will track down my priest and talk to him about this.

Thanks to everyone for your (name removed by moderator)ut.

Jess

I think one feature that is important to consider here is, are these ladies capable of consent? That is, are they on birth control as a convenient way to deal with them getting involved in sexual encounters that the staff really ought to be preventing? It is important that no crime of lack of care for these ladies is taking place (to me, anyway). Also, if these ladies are able to consent, they are perhaps able to appreciate the idea of chastity, maybe.

Is your situation like being a nurse in a hospital and a woman is there for a week or two and you have to dispense birth control since she takes is regularly at home? Is the mental capacity the issue for you, or is it just the dispensing feature of your question? By “dispense” do you mean that you actively have to help her (want her) to swallow the pills?

And yes, do talk to a good priest about this issue, since you are unhappy about it, you could need some spiritual care. I’ve found that if I feel at all in turmoil about an issue that a priest is remarkably helpful (I don’t just mean confession).

 

[Texas_Roofer]

Well talking to a Priest is always good advice. I do not mind telling you my opinion: If these woman are not capable of being a wife and mother, If these women are not capable of understanding sex, and or mother hood - then the women should be celibate

The issues here concern the ability of the women to make ration judgments and have physical ability to perform their rational judgments. When people can not make or perform rational judgments, I think we owe them, as humans, as much reasonable treatment as we can provide. Methods to prevent ovulation are less desirable than celibacy, however some people are in situation in which they can not understand celibacy and its implications, or others can understand but lack the ability to prevent sex if it is done with them. In these conditions the suppression of ovulation should be a worthless endeavor however if history shows that to be incorrect my opinion is the treat currently used to provide a secondary protection is justified. This is of course only my opinion.

 

[boppaid]

My cousin is mildly retarded with emotional problems. She is 34 years old. Her mother requires her to be on birth control because this girl wants to get pregnant, has had sex just to get pregnant, etc. This girl is twice the mother’s size, and legally an adult. At one time the mother had guardianship over her, and she ran up a bunch of credit, and got involved in a hit and run accident. The mother’s credit was ruined, and she ran into a lot of legal problems. The girl is officially independent now, as the mother cannot control her anyway.

Her doctors will not sign that she needs to have a guardianship or live in a home. Yet, she is not capable of making good decisions. Medically, she cannot reason that well. Also, she is so consumed with having a baby.

What would the church’s stance on this be in regards to birth control?

 

[Listener]

I agree that it it probably a good idea to talk to a priest for peace of mind. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with what you are doing. These ladies aren’t married, and they can’t even think for themselves. They could be in danger of rape. In fact, years ago, I read about some nuns who were on birth control pills because they were in some country where the probably of being raped was very high. In this day and age, there are young girls who actually take birth control pills to stop their periods - they don’t want to bother with a period.

Since these ladies require constant care, it could be that they are getting the pills simply to cut down on the amount of work the staff has to do. From personal experience, I know that the pill is capable of turning a heavy, painful period (full of large clots) into a period where the bleeding is very light. Since young girls use the pill to stop their periods (for their convenience), it could be that these ladies are getting the pill to stop their periods altogether. The staff has enough to do without changing pads a dozen times a day!

Anyway, that is why I think it is probably okay.