October 3, 2007
Update: Ruling in Sophie Currier Case Voided
Sophie Currier, the Harvard Medical School student who sued for extra time to take an exam because she is currently breast-feeding, will have to wait a little longer to take that exam.
Although judge Gary Katzmann gave Currier extra break time to handle her business, the Crimson reports that the Massachusetts appeals court has "temporarily voided" Katzmann's ruling because of an appeal from the National Board of Medical Examiners.
The judges are supposed to make a final decision by October 10. Bostonist posted on this earlier because it looked as if all these decisions were being made by men who can't breast-feed and therefore have no clue what might happen if Currier can't express milk at certain times.
A tipper let us know that Currier has a blog, accomodatenursing.blogspot.com. The tipper also noted that Currier can't spell "accommodate." We'll just assume she's got a lot on her mind. The blog is invite-only, and we'd like to get an invite, as we don't know anything about breast-feeding and are therefore neutral. (We also try to avoid knowing anything about test-taking.)
Adam Reilly at the Phoenix gained access to Currier's blog (or read it before she turned it "invite-only") and found that the comments were strongly anti-Currier. Reilly, who attended high school with Currier, also advised, "Sophie, it's time to take it down a notch."
Photo of Sophie Currier from the AP.
|
The comments WERE strongly anti-Currier (several were from women doctors with young kids who told her to stop her whining, basically). Then she deleted them all. Then she apparently couldn't stand public discourse and took her blog private.
Comments on other blogs are also strongly anti-Currier:
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2007/09/26/judge-grants-breastfeeding-med-student-extra-time/
and
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2007/09/26/breastfeeding-med-student-gets-extra-time-on-test/
Note that much of the criticism comes from other mothers and physicians (including female physicians).
I am a female doctor, and I also side with the NBME after reading up on all the "accomodations" that they had already offered Currier:
http://www.nbme.org/about/BF-USMLE.html
She really does need to bite the bullet and and take the test already. By the time she is done with all the litigation, her baby will probably be in kindergarten.
"Bostonist posted on this earlier because it looked as if all these decisions were being made by men who can't breast-feed and therefore have no clue what might happen if Currier can't express milk at certain times."
Err... Well, uh, the first thing to say, I guess, is that you don't get to have female judges because you're going through what are purely female issues. It's partly a logical thing, and partly an objectivity thing (sympathy, afterall, is not necessarily of assistance in neutral decision making).
But, all is not lost, because male judges can get a clue about what will happen if Currier doesn't express milk BY TALKING TO OTHER WOMEN. Or doctors. Or doctors who are women.
*Yawn* Don't worry, I'm sure justice will prevail. Who the hell cares about some chick taking a licensing exam, anyway?