Ethiopian women in Israel 'given contraceptive without consent' | World news | guardian.co.uk: "Israel's health ministry is investigating claims that Ethiopian women are being injected with a controversial contraceptive without their knowledge or consent.
Thousands of Ethiopian women are said to be receiving shots of Depo-Provera every three months in Israeli clinics. The contraceptive stops menstruation and has been linked to fertility problems and osteoporosis.
Yaakov Litzman, Israel's deputy minister of health, who has previously denied the practice, will lead the inquiry, a spokesperson announced on Wednesday.
The phenomenon was uncovered when social workers noticed the birth rate among Ethiopian immigrants halving in a decade. An Israeli documentary investigating the scandal was aired in December and prompted a popular outcry."
'via Blog this'
Genital removing doctor Reeves jailed for extra 18 months
Genital removing doctor Reeves jailed for extra 18 months: "Former gynaecologist Graeme Reeves will serve at least an extra 18 months in jail for assaulting patients, including cutting off one woman's genitalia."
BioEdge: UK report examines catastrophic failure at government hospital
BioEdge: UK report examines catastrophic failure at government hospital: "A report in 2010 into Stafford Hospital found that hundreds of patients had died unnecessarily and that conditions were sometimes unspeakably bad. Some patients were left in excrement-soaked sheets and some had to drink from dirty flower vases because nurses failed to bring them water.
A second report by a leading barrister, Robert Francis, into the causes of this disaster makes depressing reading. He found that there had been a total collapse of the system at the Mid Staffordshire NHS [National Health Service] Foundation Trust, which is responsible for running the hospital. In the report, which was released earlier this month, Mr Francis writes:
“This is a story of appalling and unnecessary suffering of hundreds of people. They were failed by a system which ignored the warning signs and put corporate self-interest and cost control ahead of patients and their safety. Patients were let down by the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. There was a lack of care, compassion, humanity and leadership. The most basic standards of care were not observed, and fundamental rights to dignity were not respected.”
A second report by a leading barrister, Robert Francis, into the causes of this disaster makes depressing reading. He found that there had been a total collapse of the system at the Mid Staffordshire NHS [National Health Service] Foundation Trust, which is responsible for running the hospital. In the report, which was released earlier this month, Mr Francis writes:
“This is a story of appalling and unnecessary suffering of hundreds of people. They were failed by a system which ignored the warning signs and put corporate self-interest and cost control ahead of patients and their safety. Patients were let down by the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. There was a lack of care, compassion, humanity and leadership. The most basic standards of care were not observed, and fundamental rights to dignity were not respected.”
“Questioning the status quo in medicine is not easy,” Dr Harlan Krumholz, of Yale School of Medicine
BioEdge: Doctors slow to blow whistle: "A lawsuit against the medical products giant Johnson & Johnson has raised questions about doctors’ willingness to warn colleagues and patients about bad drugs or devices. According to the New York Times, memos brought as evidence in the first of 10,000 lawsuits over a faulty hip replacement show that doctors were very reluctant to be whistleblowers.
“Questioning the status quo in medicine is not easy,” Dr Harlan Krumholz, of Yale School of Medicine, told the NYT. Doctors also shy away from the work of reporting errors and failures. “The Food and Drug Administration relies on physicians to help monitor product safety by alerting the agency to adverse patient reactions, doctors usually do not make such filings, saying they are too busy for the paperwork,” says the NYT.
Financial ties also influence doctors. “If someone has been paying you or employing you, it is very difficult to blow the whistle,” said Professor George Loewenstein, of Carnegie-Mellon University. “It offends our sense of loyalty.”"
“Questioning the status quo in medicine is not easy,” Dr Harlan Krumholz, of Yale School of Medicine, told the NYT. Doctors also shy away from the work of reporting errors and failures. “The Food and Drug Administration relies on physicians to help monitor product safety by alerting the agency to adverse patient reactions, doctors usually do not make such filings, saying they are too busy for the paperwork,” says the NYT.
Financial ties also influence doctors. “If someone has been paying you or employing you, it is very difficult to blow the whistle,” said Professor George Loewenstein, of Carnegie-Mellon University. “It offends our sense of loyalty.”"
BioEdge: Israel halts underhanded contraceptive injections for Ethiopian migrants
BioEdge: Israel halts underhanded contraceptive injections for Ethiopian migrants: "Years of rumours that Ethiopian women were pressured into having contraceptive injections by Israeli officials have finally been confirmed. The Health Ministry has ordered immigration officials in Ethiopia and health workers in Israel to stop coercing or coaxing women into accepting the long-lasting injectable contraceptive Depo-Provera.
The directive instructed doctors “not to renew prescriptions of Depo Provera to women of Ethiopian origin or any other women who, for whatever reason, may not understand the treatment’s implications.” They should also ask patients why they want to take the shot, using a translator if necessary. The Ministry did not confirm or acknowledge any wrongdoing.
Ethiopians who claim to be Jews are welcome to migrate to Israel under the Law of Return, but they face discrimination and have not always integrated well into Israeli society. Births among Ethiopian women have dropped by 50% in the last decade, according to a report by the “Vacuum” investigative news program on Israeli Educational Television. “This story reeks of racism, paternalism and arrogance. It’s a story to be ashamed of,” journalist Gal Gabai concluded. "
The directive instructed doctors “not to renew prescriptions of Depo Provera to women of Ethiopian origin or any other women who, for whatever reason, may not understand the treatment’s implications.” They should also ask patients why they want to take the shot, using a translator if necessary. The Ministry did not confirm or acknowledge any wrongdoing.
Ethiopians who claim to be Jews are welcome to migrate to Israel under the Law of Return, but they face discrimination and have not always integrated well into Israeli society. Births among Ethiopian women have dropped by 50% in the last decade, according to a report by the “Vacuum” investigative news program on Israeli Educational Television. “This story reeks of racism, paternalism and arrogance. It’s a story to be ashamed of,” journalist Gal Gabai concluded. "
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