4 ms·
That's not an apt analogy. Camden benches, sit/lie ordinances, etc. make the condition of being homeless worse. If public hospitals suddenly decided to turn aw
by etjossem 10y ago
That's not an apt analogy. Camden benches, sit/lie ordinances, etc. make the condition of being homeless worse.
If public hospitals suddenly decided to turn away emergency room patients who don't have coverage, I would absolutely criticize them. Emergency rooms are not expected to directly address the lack of health coverage, but it's within their power to mitigate one of the most painful and horrific consequences.
The same goes for city planners. As a taxpayer, I do not want to pay for benches designed to be hostile to the homeless. If you already have it so bad you need to sleep in the park, I should not be spending money to make things more miserable for you.
- nine_k 10y agoDoctors give an oath [1] to help all sick people. Public park designers, and even municipal clerks who actually order benches and suchlike, do not do anything similar. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath
- bduerst 10y agoYou're being downvoted, but you're right. According to the EMTL Act, both private and public emergency rooms can't turn away or delay care to patients that need it.
- etjossem 10y agoThe EMTALA was a policy decision we made through our representatives (it doesn't have anything to do with the Hippocratic Oath). For the same reasons the EMTALA passed, we should be killing sit/lie bills - and hostile designs like this - whenever we see them. Park benches are about the absolute lowest form of safety net you can imagine for a night's sleep, just as ER treatment without asking questions is for health. It's so far below the bare minimum that it would be repugnant to deny it.
- bduerst 10y agoI didn't say they were one and the same - just showing that it's illegal to turn someone away.