Jerusalem – Israel Forces Birth Control On Ethiopian Jews

    11

    File photo of Ethiopian Falashmura descendants of Jews arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv. Photo by Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90Jerusalem – The Health Ministry has ordered doctors to review how they prescribe a birth control drug, after accusations it was being used to control the population of Ethiopian immigrants.

    Join our WhatsApp group

    Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email


    Suspicions that Ethiopian women had been coerced into receiving Depo-Provera arose in Israeli media a few years ago and most recently in a TV documentary linking the community’s falling birthrate to over-prescription of the injectable contraceptive.

    After a civil rights group accused it of racism, the health ministry ordered doctors not to renew Depo-Provera prescriptions unless they were convinced patients understood the ramifications, according to a letter from the ministry posted on the group’s website on Monday.

    Ministry Director-General Roni Gamzu said the decision did not imply he accepted the allegations by the Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI).

    In a letter to Gamzu two weeks ago, ACRI said “the sweeping use of Depo-Provera among Ethiopian women raises heavy suspicions that we are talking about a deliberate policy to control and monitor fertility among this community.

    “The data … point to a paternalistic, haughty and racist attitude that limits considerably the freedom of Ethiopian immigrants to choose the birth control that is medically suitable for them.” ACRI said statistics from a major Israeli health provider showed that it had administered Depo-Provera injections to 5,000 women in 2008, 57 percent of whom were Ethiopian.

    Israel has denied any policy to curb the birthrate among the 100,000 Ethiopian Jews who have moved to Israel since chief rabbis determined in 1973 that the community had biblical roots.

    Some Ethiopian Jews have made it into Israel’s parliament and officer ranks in the military, but complaints of discrimination in schooling and housing are common.

    According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which approved Depo-Provera in 1992, its prolonged use may reduce bone density and that it should only be used for longer than two years if other birth control methods prove inadequate.

    The documentary, broadcast on Israeli Educational Television, shows a nurse saying on a hidden camera that Ethiopian women were given Depo-Provera because they “don’t understand anything” and would forget to take birth control pills.

    Rick Hodes, medical director in Ethiopia for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a non-governmental organization that helps to facilitate immigration to Israel, denied the accusation that women are coerced into receiving the injections before leaving for the Jewish state.

    “Injectable drugs have always been the most popular form of birth control in Ethiopia, as well as among women in our program,” Hodes wrote on Twitter.

    “Our family program is, and always (has) been, purely voluntary.”

    Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post


    Listen to the VINnews podcast on:

    iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Podbean | Amazon

    Follow VINnews for Breaking News Updates


    Connect with VINnews

    Join our WhatsApp group


    11 Comments
    Most Voted
    Newest Oldest
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments
    Secular
    Secular
    11 years ago

    As someone who spent some time in the Israeli health care system I can say there is definetly a paternalistic approach in medical diagnosis, treatment, and overall practice. Reasons range from a european style and culture of medicine, an abundance of doctors from the former USSR, and not coincidentally a socialized system of healthcare. The needs of the individual are secondary to the (healthcare) needs of the STATE. Health care POLICY is not made as a result of doctor patient relationships, but as a medical (state) system vis-a-vis the populace. An elite(unelected, non-representative few make decisions for the many. All in an attempt to ‘curb costs’, and ‘properly allocate resources’. But this is for another forum.

    The above notwithstanding, The fact that new immigrants from Ethiopia were given Depo shots, does not necesarily reflect some devious intent by the Ministry of health or individual Doctors. It may in fact be that these women sought contraception that was easy, didn’t require pills, compliance or repeated appointments. It may have also been done for cultural reasons (no barrier methods allowed (?). Not everything is a conspiracy.

    Reb Yid
    Reb Yid
    11 years ago

    I guess it’s better than stealing their kids, like they did to the Yemenite immigrants.

    Shlomo44
    Shlomo44
    11 years ago

    I am sick of these so called “human rights” organizations in Israel. The acronym stands for Hamas Understands Media Attention News.

    itzik18
    itzik18
    11 years ago

    Typical zionist racism. This is why all of the gedolim opposed zionism. What a chillul Hashem, RL

    11 years ago

    I think they should force them literally to be on birth-control. Most of them are not even jewish and are wasting space in Israel.