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Kelly@broadwaybabyto · Oct 23, 2024

Misogyny in medicine is focusing more on what a man might WANT than what a woman NEEDS. I NEEDED a hysterectomy and…

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Summary

A woman needed a life-saving hysterectomy but faced years of medical gatekeeping where doctors prioritized hypothetical future male partners' desires over her documented medical need and safety. The consent process focused on whether she might regret not having biological children rather than informing her of actual surgical risks and complications, which she later experienced unprepared.

Summarized by ThreadOut AI from the full thread. May miss nuance — read the thread below.

  1. #1

    Misogyny in medicine is focusing more on what a man might WANT than what a woman NEEDS. I NEEDED a hysterectomy and was told I wouldn’t survive pregnancy. “Informed consent” for surgery looked like this: “Don’t you want to be a Mom?” “You may want BIOLOGICAL children” /1 🧵

  2. #2

    “What if you meet a man who wants babies?” “What if he leaves you because you can’t bear his children?” “Men went their OWN babies - what if you can’t do that?” “You will feel like less of a woman.” /2

  3. #3

    Brought boyfriend in to try and change their minds. Them to him: “Will you still love her if she’s BARREN?” “Do you want kids?” “What if you change your mind & want kids - will you LEAVE her?” Him: “Save her life what I want doesn’t matter” (he understood the assignment) /3

  4. #4

    The assumption through the entire process - as I got sicker and sicker - was that I should WANT to risk my life for the CHANCE to bear a child. That if I didn’t WANT that - I would change my mind when I met the “right man” /4

  5. #5

    Apparently the “man of my dreams” will be so spectacular and the love so all consuming that I will be all too happy to put my life on the line to give HIM babies. Needless to say I found that incredibly offensive. I was dying. I was incredibly sick. I needed surgery. /5

  6. #6

    This is NOT “informed consent”. This is misogynistic and patriarchal bullying. Informed consent would have been ensuring I knew it wasn’t reversible and would mean I could never have children. Letting me know risks of complications. Risk of prolapse. Risk of early menopause /6

  7. #7

    None of that was covered. It was ALL about men and babies. I actually did have a severe post operative complication that I was woefully unprepared for because “informed consent” failed me. We must do better. Women need autonomy over their body. Inform us. Work with us /7

  8. #8

    Don’t put the needs of a man before of our own. Don’t treat us like incubators. We are MORE than our ability to bear children. I lost my womb at 24 and I’ve never felt like less of a woman, less of a person. I’ve never regretted it. Medicine needs to do better /end

  9. #9

    One of the worst parts was that when I ended up having a complication - I was gaslit & ignored again. Told I didn’t know my body AGAIN. I needed my boyfriend to get them to even run tests. Now - decades later - I’m still dealing with issues from the surgery and complication.

  10. #10

    I can never know how different things might have been had they acted faster - but I DO know I was never able to fully trust the medical profession again. My article on this is 👇🏼 - and I’m working on a future one about informed consent (or lack thereof) disabledginger.com/p/my-most-dang…

  11. #11

    this was in Canada - where we have better overall access to reproductive health than our neighbours to the south. They still delayed my care for THREE years. I was in & out of hospitals, getting regular blood transfusions with zero quality of life. Fight for bodily autonomy!

  12. #12

    Some ppl are saying this was ok because doctors must ensure a woman understands she might change her mind & regret it. I understand informing her - but this was medically necessary. You don’t put someone’s life at risk “just in case”. I wrote more 👇🏼 disabledginger.com/p/pregnancy-wi…