THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume X, Issue # 7, January 7, 2008
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
DELIVERING OBSTETRICS FROM RADICAL ISLAM
By R. John Matthies
ISLAM, ISLAMISTS, & HOSPITAL POLICY IN THE WEST: IS A MUSLIM WITHIN HIS RIGHTS TO INSIST A FEMALE
PHYSICIAN EXAMINE HIS WIFE, OR REFUSE MALE ASSISTANCE IN THE BIRTH OF HIS CHILD? ARE HOSPITALS
OBLIGED TO ACCOMODATE THE MUSLIM'S WISH WHEN THIS UNFAIRLY BURDENS STAFF, ENTAILS A DELAY THAT
JEOPARDIZES PATIENT CARE, OR IF ACCOMODATIONS LIKE THESE CONTRAVENE THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH?
SHOULD ADHERENTS OF ISLAMIST IDEOLOGY BE ALLOWED TO DICTATE HOSPITAL POLICY RELATING TO MEDICAL
CARE OF MUSLIM WOMEN?
FULL STORY:
Is a Muslim within his rights to insist a female physician examine his wife, or refuse male assistance in the birth of his
child? And, are hospitals obliged to accommodate the Muslim's wish when this unfairly burdens staff, entails a delay that
jeopardizes patient care, or if accommodations like these contravene the Hippocratic oath? Europe grapples with
questions like these with increasing frequency; and Great Britain and the Netherlands appear well on their way to
translating the discriminating tastes of their hospital guests into hospital policy.
The Dutch Telegraaf reports that the Dutch physicians' organization (KNMG), in reply to verified cases of doctor
intimidation, has published guidelines that will allow Muslims to refuse a male physician. The organization asks that
hospitals satisfy requests for a female physician in every case but those deemed "acutely emergent," and urges
sensitivity. Without surprise, the article goes on to cite a Dutch National Broadcasting Foundation (NOS) report that
acknowledges "some physicians" feel the professional organization is too quick to cater to "the wishes of Muslims."
The new physician selection guidelines are the fruit of questions posed in a policy progress document dated November 1,
2007. Section 5 of said document, which examines Medical Ethics, relates that one is unclear as to actions required when a
Muslim, for reasons of faith – but occasionally at risk to the patient – refuses the attention of a male physician. And one
reads, by way of reply, that a directive is in the offing. (This is followed by a paragraph, which, with no apparent irony,
goes on to describe a study commissioned to explore "conscientious," or, physician-assisted, suicide.)
The Flemish Association for Obstetrics and Gynecology (VVOG), well aware of the problems posed by Muslim bias
against male Obstetrician-Gynecologists, agrees with the physicians described by the NOS report, and demands a
measure of inflexibility – if only for sake of efficiency. Johan Van Wiemeersch, head of Sint-Augustinus in Wilrijk, explains:
"In my own hospital, every patient who absolutely insists
on a woman is dismissed from the hospital. As a
gynecologist association we ask for the same strict rules
in all maternity wards. In our own hospital, we used to be
more flexible, but female gynecologists had to be called
out of bed to come in. That is not acceptable."
Grumbling over belligerent males in the obstetrics ward has also made news in Belgium, where two cases in particular made
headlines recently. One concerns anesthetist Philippe Becx, who, on the night of August 23, 2007, was called to assist an
emergency Caesarian. The doctor arrived to find his path obstructed by the patient's husband, who said in no case would
a man be allowed to care for his wife. Two hours of debate ensued, in which time Dr. Becx explained he was the sole
anesthetist on duty. At last, an imam was called to broker an accord; this consisted of draping the expectant mother with
cloth, and exposing her flesh to the doctor at the injection point alone.
The doctor reluctantly consented, and, after administering the epidural, waited outside the operating room, where he
assessed his patient and conversed with the (female) gynecologist through a duty nurse and a door propped ajar. Dr. Becx
went on to press charges against the man, for hindering a physician in the exercise of his function; but Belgium's
professional association of anesthetists, while sure of the doctor's right, was unwilling to ascribe motive to the man's
religious convictions, and reading, instead, a case of gender discrimination. All the same, the organization not only signed
the complaint, but also filed civil charges of criminal negligence.
Similar, as reported by Brussels' De Morgen, is the case of Luc Gerguts, Chief of Gynecology at Geel Sint-Dimpna hospital,
who described to a physician's journal how an angry Muslim prevented him from assisting his wife in a dangerous delivery.
The woman had experienced two stillbirths already, he said, and her situation was critical. But, when the husband refused
to allow Dr. Gerguts to attend to his wife, the doctor yielded, and, following the example of Dr. Becx, dispatched for two
experienced midwives, and stationed himself behind the door.
Examples like Becx's and Gergut's have become more visible in the Western European media, but this is not to say that this
is everywhere the same. Across the border, in France, for example, violence against male physicians is neither unknown
nor rare, but the tactics deployed to counter unreasonable demands for accommodation have evolved very differently.
To begin, accommodations like these are ridiculed in the press. France's most famous cartoonist and political satirist,
Plantu, whose work appears on the front page of Le Monde, has, over time, produced several noteworthy panels
on Islam in the obstetrics ward. One represents a quarrelsome Muslim, who demands to know the faith of his wife's
physician. The doctor's answer? "Humanitarian." The second depicts a similarly threatening male, with pregnant wife in
tow, who indicates his own prominent belly and bellows, "She hurts here."
French Ob-Gyn Gilles Dauptain says he's no stranger to belligerent comportment in the ward. But, he relates to
Libération (Paris), "we've had far fewer incidents of this type" most recently; and this, he continues, for the "simple
reason" that the French College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians (CNGOF) – with the unqualified endorsement of the
French Medical Association (CNOM) – thought it best to publish a communiqué defense of women "against Muslim
fanaticism."
This defense comprises a brief policy document (titled Information importante), which the College distributed to
every Obstetrics-Gynecology service in France, with the recommendation that this be posted in plain view of hospital
guests and those seeking care.
The Information states that, (1) the healthcare field is comprised of members of each sex; (2) it is impossible to
guarantee a woman will be followed or examined by a female physician; (3) private conviction and the practice of faith
must not be allowed to compromise patient care; (4) the service may not be disrupted for any reason; and (5) refusal to be
seen by a man will be understood as refusal of service.
The attached communiqué (in French), titled "Obstetrician-Gynecologists Support Women Against Muslim Fanaticism,"
carries the names of the President and Secretary-General of the College of Gynecology; and reads: "We say, in no
uncertain terms, that we will continue to administer services where physicians, male or female, will care for patients of
either sex." And, to close:
"Don't we have a duty to protect women against assaults on
their freedom? Thirty years ago, Muslim women arrived at our
hospitals, thinking nothing to be seen by physicians who were
most often male […], and one neither experienced this sort of
difficulty, nor witnessed this kind of violence. Why this
regression? Should we simply resign ourselves to the present
situation, and take a great step backwards?"
It is the responsibility of Islam to embrace the liberties required
for citizens of a modern state, and not the other way around.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the problem of aggressive gender selection at the hospital is not so egregious in the
United States; but this is not to say that incidents like these do not or cannot occur here. The United States would be
wise to consider examples like the Netherlands's – and France's, of course – and think to fashion policy documents
drafted to preclude unreasonable accommodation or special services, and, most important, consistent with the health,
safety, and well-being of the patient population.
By way of reply to the questions posed at the beginning of this article, it should be observed that, while the choice of
physician is both private and a matter of taste, the demands occasioned by advanced medical practice often render
consumer-oriented accommodations impracticable and/or unwise.
And, finally, on the subject of physician-selection and recalcitrant males, it was suggested to me by a nurse with
experience in reproductive health that it's always best to abide by the phrase: "What's good for the goose is good for
the gander."
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Science, Ethics, & Human Health:
Human Health & Public Policy
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
Middle East -- Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
American Foreign Policy -- The Middle East
International Politics & World Disorder:
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
Counterterrorism & U.S. National Security
U.S. National Security Strategy
R. John Matthies is Contributing Editor of Family Security Matters and Assistant Director of Islamist Watch, a
project of the Middle East Forum. He can be reached at Matthies@MEForum.org.
The foregoing article by R. John Matthies was originally published in Family Security Matters, January 7, 2008,
and can be found on the Internet website
maintained by the Middle East Forum, a think tank which seeks to define and
promote American interests in the Middle East, defining U.S. interests to include fighting radical Islam, working for
Palestinian Arab acceptance of the State of Israel, improving the management of U.S. efforts to promote constitutional
democracy in the Middle East, reducing America's energy dependence on the Middle East, more robustly asserting U.S.
interests vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia, and countering the Iranian threat.
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
January 7, 2008
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