1179
Doctors
(sh.itjust.works)
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I think it's not about minimizing someone as just a vessel for a fetus, it's about the reality that menstruation and pregnancy just have huge medical implications in general, in lab results, diagnostic approaches, and in treatment options. With such a wide variety of possible impacts, it may be easy to forget to check 'just in time' in very decision that might matter.
Suppose would someone rather get asked that awkwardly once for a whole visit, or potentially get asked repeatedly as they prepare to perform particular tests, interpret results, or think about prescribing medication.
It's not fair that such a huge biological thing is incurred by one sex and not the other, but it is just a possibility they have to deal with.
To refrain from asking to avoid that awkwardness increases risk of missing that situation and malpractice for failing to take that pretty basic biological reality into account.
Ninety percent of the time it has no bearing on anything the doctor will be doing and yet it's almost always the first thing they ask women. At least move it farther down the form! It's fucking tiresome.
Should they ask every one of you men the date and time of your last ejaculation? Sure, it's intrusive but ejaculatory issues are an under-discussed issue, perhaps it should be the first question for every man, to make sure it gets done as you say.
99% of the time I drive, my car insurance has no bearing on the outcome of my trip, but I really appreciate it that 1% of the time it does.
While not ejaculation, we do get probed (less literally now) over potential prostate issues, groin hernias, and erections. But only for routine visits, since these issues while significant, have little bearing on diagnosing and treating other health conditions.
Women draw the short straw since imaging and drugs all have to take a potential pregnancy into consideration so it's a key piece of data for all sorts of medical events. Particularly risky when a fetus is hardest to be aware of early on.