Follow Dr. Coplan on Facebook
Follow Dr. Coplan on Facebook


Follow Dr. Coplan on Twitter
Follow Dr. Coplan on Twitter


Follow Dr. Coplan on YouTube
Follow Dr. Coplan on YouTube

Life is Complicated – part 03

June 1st, 2016 by drcoplan

BTTF 01 470x246

A few weeks ago, we started a discussion stemming from Indiana’s new state law forbidding termination of pregancy based upon the disability status of the fetus (here, and here). I asked readers to write in, and tell me what they wanted in the way of a physician, if they were ever in that situation. A reader wrote in and offered her comments. Here, we will continue that dialog.

Dear Anne,

Thanks for your thoughtful response. Let me try to respond to your email point by point. I will use “>>” marks to set off my responses.

1. Oh, I’m famous! Hee!

>> Use your 15 minutes of fame  wisely!

I was conscious of skirting around the question at the time, in part because I still wrestle with my own thoughts around my own experiences.

>> Wrestling with one’s own thoughts and experiences is a useful process. Jacob wrestles  with an “Ish” (conventionally translated as “angel,” but the actual meaning in Hebrew is ambiguous). He fights the Ish to a draw. The Ish blesses Jacob, conferring upon him a new name – ”Israel” (literally, “I have struggled with God”), but at the same time wounds him in the groin, so that he walks with a limp forever afterwards. I see that as a metaphor: We struggle with our inner selves, and that struggle transforms us into something better – although we often bear the scars of our struggles, inwardly or outwardly. If you’re not a big fan of Scripture, then perhaps Hemmingway will resonate: “The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”

Implicit in my response is a gentle, respectful admonishment to both of us– if people like Peter can’t depend on their own mothers or on their psychiatrists to defend, fiercely, their place in this world, then we’ve failed.

Read the rest of this entry »


We are all in this together.

May 25th, 2016 by drcoplan

I am autism and I vote






Topics

Blog Archives