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Except it’s not even clear that it was public policy, and in fact most likely wasn’t: > From the available evidence, it appears likely that some Ethiopian wome
by zoky 3y ago
Except it’s not even clear that it was public policy, and in fact most likely wasn’t:
> From the available evidence, it appears likely that some Ethiopian women were given contraceptive injections without fully understanding the potential side effects or their alternative options. However, there is no clear evidence indicating that the Israeli government or humanitarian organizations involved purposefully coerced women into receiving injections in an effort to reduce birth rates—though the narrow scope of the investigation into those claims has been criticized.
It sounds like many Ethiopian women went to the same few clinics (likely because ethnic groups tend to form enclaves) where Depo-Provera was commonly prescribed, and some of the women who were prescribed it were not fully informed of the side effects or the alternatives. In fact, the way this was addressed was to issue a directive to doctors and pharmacies not to refill prescriptions unless the recipient understood the ramifications of taking the medication:
> In response to a letter sent by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel in January 2013 and pressure from a number of female members of Israel’s legislature, Ronni Gamzu—the director general of Israel’s Health Ministry—instructed gynecologists in the country’s four health maintenance organizations to cease use of the long-acting contraceptive injection in question, Depo-Provera, if there were any questions around the patient’s comprehension of the treatment. Gamzu reportedly directed medical providers “not to renew prescriptions for Depo-Provera if for any reason there is concern that [the patient] might not understand the ramifications of the treatment.”
So while some women may not have been fully aware of the side-effects of the medication or been aware of alternatives (perhaps due to language barriers or doctors simply not going into detail as they should have), there is scant evidence that any of these women were unaware that they were taking birth control or did not desire to do so. And there is zero evidence that these injections were in any way “forced”; these women were voluntarily refilling their prescriptions, not being told to take the medication or risk deportation.
This all sounds like somebody with an anti-Israel bias took what amounts to a relatively minor medical ethics issue and twisted it into claims of “forced sterilization”. That’s what’s really unethical here.
- kevinventullo 3y agoThis all sounds like somebody with an anti-Israel bias… According to the article, the original report aired on the Israeli Educational Television show Vacuum: https://www.timesofisrael.com/ethiopian-women-claim-israel-forced-them-to-use-birth-control-before-letting-them-immigrate/amp/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/ethiopian-women-claim-israel-f... The anchor interviewed Ethiopian women who said they thought the shots were vaccinations. “The women claimed Israeli representatives from the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and the Health Ministry told them that raising large families is especially difficult, that it is for hard people with many children to find work and support their families, and that many landlords would not be willing to rent apartments to large families.” This is from Times Of Israel, not Al Jazeera.
- compsciphd 3y agoThe original reporting in 2012 was done by the open and free media in Israel who try to improve Israel. The article posted today by "Chris Jeffries" on medium and then posted here, is meant to be propaganda against Israel in the intent to destroy it. looking at post history, almost every single post made by that user has been killed here. Most not on Israel. Which would indicate propeganda user without real value.
- zoky 3y ago> The anchor interviewed Ethiopian women who said they thought the shots were vaccinations. I'm gonna have to call bullshit here. And honestly, it's kind of racist and sexist bullshit. 1) How does anybody believe that the “vaccinations” they are being given have to be re-administered every three months? 2) Why would these “vaccinations” only apply to women? Do you think the women getting these injections are too stupid to notice that, for whatever reason, their husbands and sons aren't required to get them? 3) Depo-Provera is known to reduce or eliminate womens' periods, as are most forms of birth control when taken constantly throughout the menstrual cycle. Do you really think these women are so out of touch with their own bodies that they wouldn't realize that, hey, something just might be wrong, when they haven't gotten their periods in months or years? Unfortunately, to believe the story as stated above, you have to accept at least one, and possibly all, of these statements at face value. And I fail to see how anybody could accept any of these statements at face value, unless you believe that Ethiopian (read, “Black”) women are generally less intelligent than the rest of humanity, either due to their gender or race. I'm not trying to be critical of you personally, because I know it's hard to see things from the perspective of another sociological position. But before ascribing viewpoints to a race or gender other than your own, you really should look at things from their point of view, while assuming that they are at least as intelligent as you are while doing so.
- kevinventullo 3y ago1. COVID boosters were given every six months. 2. There are plenty of preventative treatments that differ between men and women. It is clear from the reporting that there was a concerted government policy to encourage Ethiopian women to have fewer or no children. The women themselves said they didn’t understand what the shots did. But yeah, the reporters calling attention to this horrific policy are the racist ones, got it.