Can you Refuse Medical Examinations and Treatment in the Military?

The military is a horse of a different color. They break you down then build you up as a team. Following orders is a given. I think you could refuse it and depending on how big of a stickler the doc is you might get separated from the service. I never served, this is my opinion but have family that do. Hopefully some veterans will chime in.

There is a thing called "Patients Bill of Rights".

This declaration pretty much gives you the right to refuse treatments or procedures. But if the treatments and or procedures are to save or extend your life or quality of life then most likely you would not refuse such.

And being in the military refusing treatments and or procedures might jeopardize your standing in the military service.

If you find a treatment and or a procedure embarrassing that is a different thing.

Forcing one to have a medical treatment brings up a whole nother discussion about the law and ones healthcare.

Essentially, you have the same rights as a civilian from a medical perspective. Military doctors and corpsman don't do anything that a civilian doctor wouldn't do. They are health professionals just like their civilian counterparts. If you refused to submit to a part of a physical or refuse required vaccinations - you might not pass and you may need that box checked to advance, get into a specialty school or program, or even qualify to continue service. If you are in the hospital and refuse treatment for whatever reason - you have the same rights as civilians.

Well....., when in the Service you MAY elect to not have a shot or procedure, but when the subject of getting flu shots came up, you either got it or not, but don't expect a paycheck if you didn't get it...... That was back in the early '70's.

Today you get it "to ensure combat readiness".

I have read quite a number of accounts about forced circumcisions in the military. Apparently there were some/many(?) officers who couldn't abide the idea of having under their command who wasn't circumcised and did everything possible to make sure the offender got his foreskin cut off.

This was admittedly about the US military prior to the 1980's. Even then, depending on the branch of service, circumcisions were no longer mandatory, but elective. Which still didn't mean that officers might not have a hard-on for uncircumcised personnel and make their life a hell until they got their snip.

I have no idea how things stand at present though.

Remembering the urban legends in the military, don't get a sunburn, don't get crazy drunk ...article 108 UCMJ willful destruction of government property. Heard that also about catching the 'clap'. I always tried to be a 'face in the crowd' and not to draw attention to myself and stay out of trouble. Did a little research on this tho. Per Stars and Stripes - Some people like to claim article 108 forbids troops from getting sunburn because that's damage to "government property." The Stars and Stripes Rumor Doctor investigated this and experts in military law told him this isn't true for two reasons. First, service members are not military property. Second, the government has to quantify the damage done to the property which is nearly impossible when referring to a human being.

On the other hand there was an urban legend in Vietnam about a GI that got a case of the 'clap' and it turned out the 'girl san' that he got it from was a Viet Cong and he was awarded a purple heart. Can't say I ever believed that one although it was interesting.

So there it is.

From my own experiences only...

I spent 10 years on active duty with the USMC. Refusing medical treatment?!? I guess it depended upon the treatment. In the Corps, refusing medical treatment that then put you into a "non-deployable" status meant that you just opened a whole can of shit. Could they force you to get a vaccination or something else? No. Could they file charges under the UCMJ for malingering or dereliction or some similar charge? Absolutely. I can't say for sure which articles would be cited, but refusing vaccinations (or other treatments) that made you non-deployable were definitely chargeable offenses. If you refused those treatments, you wouldn't go on deployment because you'd be in the brig.

On the other hand there was an urban legend in Vietnam about a GI that got a case of the 'clap' and it turned out the 'girl san' that he got it from was a Viet Cong and he was awarded a purple heart. Can't say I ever believed that one although it was interesting.

if that is true, it is a slap in the face to everyone who took a bullet. My guess is urban legend. But then, we are dealing with idiots!

Army combat medic here:

Although there is always a gray area in medicine (including military medicine), there are situations where medical treatment is mandatory. Vaccinations are one that was mentioned, but substance abuse/alcohol abuse, command referred mental health counseling, and profiles (a document stating what you can and can't do when you are recovering from an illness or injury/surgery) are not discretionary. Because they are written in military policy or are at the order of a commissioned officer, you can potentially face UCMJ penalities for knowingly violating one of the above.

Articles 91, 92 of UCMJ can be cited for the above. There are others that I am not familiar with as well.

When I was in the U.S. Navy in the 70's, I overheard some Corpsmen talking about a Wave (female navy) who would often complain of bowel problems to get out of work. The last time she came in to sick call, the Dr. used a speculum to examine her bowel and, while she was thus exposed, called in every medical professional he could find to see what a perfectly healthy bowel looked like. They said she never came in again with that complaint.

When I was in the Army, the chain of command had spreadsheets that said who was due or overdue for which exams. Even though it was embarrassing having my male supervisor tell me I needed a pap smear, I never had it done until it was mandatory.

I never let it progress to where I got a formally reprimanded. I don't remember very many details about the pap smears, I've blocked most of it out.