The Belgian gynecologist association prepared a code of conduct that makes it impossible to choose the gender of the doctor in emergency services. Immigrant men often reject a male doctor for their pregnant wife.
Luc Baeyens of the Brussels Brugmann hospital says that at least one immigrant woman a week can't give birth in his hospital because there's no female doctor available. Also Johan Van Wiemeersch, chairman of the Belgian gynecologist, says he has to deal more and more with refusal in his practice.
Van Wiemeersch drew up a code of conduct that applies to all Belgian maternity wards. Whoever registers in a maternity institute must sign the code. By doing so he declares his agreement that both a female doctor as well as a male doctor may check-up or help in birth, whenever the patient comes in.
Van Wiemeersch says that the they can force observing the code of conduct and call in the police if it's infringed. "Although I hope it never gets as far. We're not on the war path." He thinks that his code of conduct can be implemented by the spring.
Source: HLN (Dutch)
See also: Netherlands: Female patients have right to refuse male doctor, Flanders: Refusing male gynecologists, Belgium: Complaint against Muslim who refused male anesthetist
7 comments:
As an American, I don't understand this attitude at all. Many women may not be comfortable with a male gynecologist, not only immigrants. It seems to me like Europeans are going out of their way to punish immigrants. Alienating them seems counterproductive and is more likely to cause radicalization.
Perhaps it's a self-fulfilling prophecy? Alienate immigrants more and more and then complain that they're not integrated in society...
They have drawn uo a code of conduct that patients agree to if they wish treatment. If people do not like that code of conduct then they can go elsewhere. They would probably have to pay more but that is the way of the world. If you request special treatment then you pay for it.
Hi anonymous #1,
The issue here is not women who prefer a female doctor, it's women who come in needing an emergency procedure and their husband prevents or delays it by demanding a female doctor.
How many such cases occur in American hospitals?
My guess is that those who are accommodated will be on the higher side. There is a far greater respect for the individual there.
That being said, most Muslims manage to integrate quite well into the American society because they are actually made to feel welcome by their hosts.
Why would I want to identify with the very group that hates me?
Anonymous #2, the article states that the "code of conduct" applies to all Belgian maternity wards. Are you suggesting that a woman who prefers a female doctor be forced to visit a neighboring country in an emergency situation?
Esther, I don't see why it would happen any more or less in European hospitals than in American ones. In any case the "code of conduct" does not even appear to allow for the woman herself to request a female doctor.
Even if it did, I suspect there would be many situations where a female immigrant might not speak the language, while her husband does. In those cases, would the woman's wishes be disregarded because they came out of her husband's mouth? There's no way to ensure that they would not.
This so-called "code of conduct" starts from an antagonistic position and essentially denies a woman's right to even express a preference. Remove immigrants from the equation and I think people would look at it quite negatively.
Would not a more reasonable (and less hostile) stance be a code of conduct for the hospital that promises to make the best effort to accommodate the patient's wishes when possible? With the understanding, of course, that in some situations it simply won't be possible to do so.
Dee, I wish I could be as optimistic about your first point. The individual is highly respected there, as long as the individual is the right color, the right religion and speaks the right language. I do, however, absolutely agree with you on the other point.
PS: Esther, I'd like to thank you for your efforts with this blog. It's the only source I've found that aggregates raw Islam-related news, both positive and negative, from Europe with a minimum of bias.
Hi anonymous,
Thank you. You might also be interested in this site,which offers news from all over Europe: euro-islam.info
The reason I'm wondering about American hospitals is that I've yet to read about such a case happening in the US. A commentator in the past said that this was because it hadn't reached national news, but it's hard for me to see how that would happen with a story about a doctor being forced out of the operating room by an angry father refusing treatment for his wife. such cases have been reported in the Belgian and Dutch press. Those stories do not include the cases where the husband asks for a female doctor and one happens to be available.
As far as I understand this code of conduct, they are talking about a woman who comes in needing emergency help. This decision follows several concrete cases in which Muslim women or their child were put in danger when the husband forcefully demanded that his wife be treated by a female doctor. Though it makes sense that a woman might not know the language etc, I can't see any woman demanding a different doctor as she's about to give birth or needs an immediate cesarean.
I do know of quite a few stories of women who gave birth in hospitals other than planned etc. Would it have made sense for them to demand that they be brought to the hospital they have chosen in advance if that would mean they won't get the care they need immediately? What doctor would be willing to take such a risk?
Take a look at the 'see also' links, as they bring more information on this story.
In this context, I think it's also important to note that the Alevite Federation in the Netherlands, a group considered moderate, demands that doctors do not comply with husband's requests for a female doctor.
Many women may not be comfortable with a male gynecologist,---
yeah, thanks to religion.
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