Doctors need public trust. Individual doctors who undermine public trust damage the whole profession.
If this ruling does go against this doctor, then theres in a particularly difficult position now.
Sandie would be found to have not harassed. And this is where the points said that anything she did other than full capitulation was unacceptable and that a patient questioning sex would viewed as 'being aggressive' are deeply problematic.
The court effectively saying the doctor is wrong would put them in a very precarious position now as the court would be saying that the doctor's judgement on this was fundamentally flawed on these points.
Any woman being treated by this doctor therefore could not be satisfied that they would behave in a way that's in their best interests. An admission of an inability to see things from other perspectives coupled with this is also deeply concerning. Doctors need empathy and to be able to see things from different perspectives as an essential skill to do the job properly.
This is before any of the sex is nebulous stuff being incapable with medicine.
I have to say, that I do think this doctor is probably so arrogant that they don't realise the mess they've single handedly created with the details of these comments. These are personal beliefs and comments unforced by anyone including the defendant.
Even if it's found that the case itself does have merit and goes against Sandie, I don't think it's much better either - indeed it has even greater implications. Many of these points still stand, and since they are then effectively legal and against the interests of all women it raises a huge question mark that I don't think can be ignored.
It then damages the entire profession. And leaves ALL doctors and the NHS supporting this distain for the lived experience of women.
It won't wash. Such damage to the profession would ultimately have to be addressed because politics will force it.
I do think this doctor has done substantial harm to their own career - and it's why I think there's now a lose - lose scenario here, which they've slept walked into through their own willful blindness.
The profession will ultimately be forced to distance from these comments in one way or another in explicit terms sooner or later.
Anyone who doesn't realise this, is paying attention and doesn't understand concepts of public interest, public trust and public consent.
Doctors - like the police - can not ignore these concepts.