Dr. Burgart: Thank you for bringing attention to the critical issue of healthcare rights for those who are incarcerated—Americans who are still considered (and treated like) slaves under the exception clause of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. One important point to highlight is that the reason so many incarcerated individuals end up in the ICU or ER is the complete absence of proper healthcare in American federal prisons. Outside of administering diabetes medication or similar routine pills, healthcare doesn’t exist, despite popular opinion. If you break a bone and have two months until release, you won’t receive treatment. If you tear your ACL, you will never be treated. Even getting something as simple as a brace is a major hassle. If you have a cavity, say goodbye to the tooth—it’s getting pulled. On can identify those who’ve spent the longest time behind bars simply by the gaps in their teeth.
The incarcerated have no way to voice this complete lack of basic medical rights while they’re in prison. Once released, they’re often focused on rebuilding their lives—advocating for prison healthcare reform becomes the last thing on their mind in the face of survival.
And I’m not even touching on the conditions of state or county prisons, which can be just as inhumane as those in Belarus.
It’s also important to challenge the perception that all those incarcerated are violent criminals. Many of them are, yes. But I know of doctors who chose to honor the Hippocratic Oath over federal law, administering non-FDA-approved drugs or using unapproved methods to save their patients’s lives. I’d take such a doctor any day over one who blindly follows the corporate line and disregards patient well-being. Who is truly more ethical?
Dr. Burgart: Thank you for bringing attention to the critical issue of healthcare rights for those who are incarcerated—Americans who are still considered (and treated like) slaves under the exception clause of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. One important point to highlight is that the reason so many incarcerated individuals end up in the ICU or ER is the complete absence of proper healthcare in American federal prisons. Outside of administering diabetes medication or similar routine pills, healthcare doesn’t exist, despite popular opinion. If you break a bone and have two months until release, you won’t receive treatment. If you tear your ACL, you will never be treated. Even getting something as simple as a brace is a major hassle. If you have a cavity, say goodbye to the tooth—it’s getting pulled. On can identify those who’ve spent the longest time behind bars simply by the gaps in their teeth.
The incarcerated have no way to voice this complete lack of basic medical rights while they’re in prison. Once released, they’re often focused on rebuilding their lives—advocating for prison healthcare reform becomes the last thing on their mind in the face of survival.
And I’m not even touching on the conditions of state or county prisons, which can be just as inhumane as those in Belarus.
It’s also important to challenge the perception that all those incarcerated are violent criminals. Many of them are, yes. But I know of doctors who chose to honor the Hippocratic Oath over federal law, administering non-FDA-approved drugs or using unapproved methods to save their patients’s lives. I’d take such a doctor any day over one who blindly follows the corporate line and disregards patient well-being. Who is truly more ethical?