I found the Flanigan reading to be the most fascinating. Specifically in reference to the section regarding normative autonomy and medical prescriptions. I had never considered the moral questionability of forcing a patient to take a certain kind of medication. I think that my own personal normalization to authority makes me more likely to just trust what the doctor says and take what they give me. I tend to fall under the thought process of, well they’re the expert so I’ll just do what they tell me to. Realistically, however, not having the option to take perception medication or not is probably one of the more coercive parts of the medical world. The same kind of argument can be said about abortions, and how banning them can force women to carry out a pregnancy they didn’t want.
I think the counter argument to Flanigan was also equally as interesting, as doctors argue that someone doesn’t have the right to impose upon themselves a substance that inhibits their ability to act freely. I had never thought about drugs in that sense, but believe that similarly to the example of Marijuana mentioned by Dr. Bezio in her podcast, drugs themselves can have societal biases against them that can distort someone’s ability to make a fair judgement on a drug. Continuing on Dr. Bezio’s example, weed was societally seen as a street drug that could possibly act as a gateway to a life of addiction and overall degradation. However now, science is able to prove the plethora of medical benefits to Marijuana, and it’s clear now most (if not all) of the negativity we associate with weed has extremely racist ties to it.
I agree with your analysis of the Flanigan reading. Having played sports my entire life, I have heard countless stories about professional athletes becoming heavily addicted to narcotics solely because doctors told them to take them so they could continue to compete, even while injured. As an advocate for mental health, I believe that more information and testing should go into the decision of whether or not to provide a patient with antidepressant medication. I believe that the more accessible these drugs are then the more reliant people become on these drugs, which can ultimately lead to addiction and even the belief that a person needs antidepressants in order to be themselves. Obviously, this varies case by case and some people need medication. I just have personally seen the negative effects of antidepressants and 100% agree with you that people need to question/speak up for themselves instead of assuming and treating medical professionals like they are always 100% correct in every situation.
I agree with you on how you trust a doctor’s authority. It is so easy to say ” well they’re the expert so I’ll just do what they tell me to,” however there are times they are not too sure what to do and just try different medicines until something works. And medicine changes that even their experience is not always a guarantee of them doing the right thing.
I totally agree with you – I find myself so many times following what a doctor says blindly while not truly understanding what is wrong with me and what I am taking. I certainly am not always comfortable standing up for what I am prioritizing or what I think is best simply because I have learned to listen to authority from a young age. In so many cases, young people listen to doctors and take hard narcotics after surgery despite being nervous about doing so only to then get addicted. We need to be able allow people to make their own decisions to some extent, but i do think that there needs to be some form of gatekeeper to the prescription drug world.
The comments about medical coercion and trusting what doctors say blindly because they are experts is absolutely spot on. One can think about how the opioid epidemic has exploded in the US over the last decade or so. It is not because more people simply picked up heroin, but that they progressed into doing it from being initially hooked on prescription opioids. Often, these drugs are over prescribed because they are so powerful they can treat any pains effectively- even when they aren’t needed for the issue at hand. Patients are told by a doctor that it will treat their condition, but not told how harmful and addictive they can be; they simply trust the word of their doctor.
I was also very interested by the Flannigan reading. He brought morals into question for topics I usually don’t consider ethical problems. You make a good point about trusting in your doctor due to normalization of authority. We blindly trust the “experts” because society tells us it’s okay to.