BOSTON – A doctor fired for repeatedly speaking out about medical risks tied to sex between men will be given a last chance to appeal his dismissal from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at a hearing Wednesday before hospital directors.
Dr. Paul Church, a Needham urologist, had his medical privileges revoked in March after a decade of conflict with hospital administrators over the issue. In September, a Beth Israel disciplinary board rejected Church's appeal of his dismissal.
Nine years ago, aboard a National Review cruise, I debated immigration policy with my colleagues and the cruisers. It was a good discussion that touched all the familiar bases. Are there really jobs Americans won't do? Are big business and big agriculture enmeshed in a corrupt bargain with liberal Democrats whereby business gets cheap labor and Democrats get new voters?
I argued then, as I do today, that there are many serious immigration reforms we ought to be undertaking. We have a valuable commodity — the right to live and work in the U.S.A. (and in some cases to become a citizen) — and we should not be handing it out to just anyone. We should swiftly deport criminals even as we should be more welcoming to those who earn PhDs or bring other skills. But I also argue that illegal immigration, particularly from Mexico, is steeply declining and likely to continue to; that even most Republicans, to say nothing of the larger electorate, are moderate on immigration; and that immigrants tend to work hard.
