A mother from Indian Trail in North Carolina has discovered something shocking written on her medical chart.
Kristina Rodriguez, after she ordered bloodwork from her provider, Carolinas Healthcare System's Lake Park Family Practice, said she saw “lesbianism” listed under medical conditions on her record of medical history.
Shocking Listing
“This listed as a medical problem could really set someone back,” Rodriguez told WSOCTV.com when she revealed the documents, mourning that it can possibly lower self-esteem.
She complained and was then contacted by a doctor and director from Carolinas Healthcare System, who defended the listing as a way to protect her from being offended.
It is 2017 and "very normal" for individuals to have a same-sex partner, Rodriguez fired back, adding that her doctor volunteered to remove that bit and instead put her sexual orientation under note.
In its official statement, the medical facility said their doctors and teams solicit information for a better understanding of the patient, their families, as well as their lives for holistic treatment. Like everywhere, they added, health care workers seek to present such information in the most respectful and sensitive way possible.
“Sexual orientation is not a clinical diagnosis," they wrote in their statement, promising to work closely with physicians and other health care providers to make sure that data include in individual medical records are "appropriate, respectual and consistent" with their premium on diversity.
The company also expressed support for inclusion and diversity in their patient and public interactions, including an “affirming” surroundings for LGBT patients.
In September last year, an 8-year-old girl was arrested for committing “lesbianism” in Uganda. She was taken into custody after a neighbor reported her to the police for engaging in “romantic relationships” with other girls. Same-sex sexual acts are prohibited in the African country, which maintains some of the most restrictive LGBT laws in the world.
LGBT Milestones, Struggles
The struggle for many in the LGBT community continues, and it could set in early in life. A government survey last year, for instance, found that lesbian along with gay and bisexual high schoolers are far more likely to experience rape or assault in dating situations than their straight peers.
Similarly, gay teens emerged to be far more likely to have tried killing themselves, taking illegal drugs, or engaging in other risky behaviors. The same findings have been suggested by smaller studies conducted through the years, with one research noting that social stigma could be a key factor that leads gays and lesbians to develop certain mental conditions.
2015 is marked as a historic year for the American LGBT, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June of that year that marriage for same-sex couples is constitutional, allowing LGBT couples to get marriage licenses throughout the 50 states. #LoveWins trended on Twitter and other social media, with rainbow icons flooding the Internet to support the advocacy.
One of the next key steps is to pass a law that makes it illegal for businesses to fire, expel, or evict LGBT employees because of their sexual orientation.
