That’s the thing they are not asking about pregnancy status. They are asking when their last period was. These are two very different questions, one treats the woman as a person and the other treats her as a walking incubator that you have to check the dials on.
You do know of the concept that women can be pregnant without them realizing or without them acknowledging it?
It’s like asking someone whether they have worms. They might know, but they might also not know. They might even know and not tell you.
All of that can be circumvented with a different question.
So you can choose to be offended by a question that they are actually legally required to ask, or you can understand that the main purpose of a doctor (or other medical personell) is not polite dinner conversation but actually assessing the situation to give appropriate treatment.
Doctors are not legally required to ask. And, barring any interventions from a supernatural being, a woman who has never had sex or hasn’t had sex in a long time cannot get pregnant. Also, women who had hysterectomies can’t get pregnant. Yet when these women tell doctors that there’s no chance they can be pregnant the doctor barrels on saying “yeah but when is your last period?” it is simply an insult to their intelligence and bodily autonomy. You have entirely too much faith in doctors and their “knowledge and integrity”. Doctors are human beings and they are just as fallible as everybody else. And continually asking questions that annoy your patients is not good bedside manner.
And though it’s true that a woman can be pregnant and not know it, they are also capable of understanding that they can’t possibly be pregnant. Because they I’ve been living with their own bodies longer than doctors have been asking them questions about them.
If a doctor doesn’t ask and it turns out the patient is pregnant and the treatment harms the embryo, the doctor is liable for the damages. If she or he doesn’t want to be liable, she or he needs to ask the question.
I know someone who had her ovaries removed and was sure she couldn’t get pregnant anymore. Turns out, for some reason the ovary removal wasn’t complete, a small scrap of ovary was missed, and she got pregnant.
Also it sadly does totally happen that women have had intercourse without them realizing. Look up e.g. Gisèle Pelicot.
And lastly, ask how many women are positive that their contraception is in place and working perfectly and can surely never get pregnant but who still end up getting pregnant.
There are women who carry a baby to completion and only realize at birth that they happened to be pregnant for a full 9 months.
Yes, most women know their own bodies. But some do not. And as a doctor not asking is about as smart as putting your hand into a random strangers dogs mouth because most dogs are well-trained and will not bite your hand off.
Literally not on of those scenarios you brought up would b solved by the question “When was your last period?” These are all edge cases and shit happens.
Also, possible liability is solved by thinking and consideration, not blindly asking pointless questions. It also doesn’t equate to “Legally required”. A woman comes in with a broken arm and you ask “When was your last period?”, she’s gonna be annoyed that you aren’t addressing the fucking broken arm. If you’re gonna give her pain killers or an X-ray, you tell her that they can be harmful to pregnancies and if she’s worried about that then do a preg test, otherwise treat her like a person not a walking incubation pod.
Do you always get annoyed at routine questions? Do you get angry when tech support asks you to turn your PC off and on again? Do you get furious when customer support asks you for your order number?
These things are routine questions. The period question is asked by female doctors too. For a reason.
Why is it so hard for you to understand that doctors are just working off checklists that are proven to work? Doctors aren’t there to make nice dinner conversations but to patch you up in the quickest possible manner with the least amount of mistakes. That’s why checklists exist.
If you know better what kind of information a doctor needs than she herself, why do you even go to one?
You choose to be offended because like many people on the internet you live off being offended. “I am offended, therefore I am.”
Well done, you prioritize being offended over being healthy.
That’s the thing they are not asking about pregnancy status. They are asking when their last period was. These are two very different questions, one treats the woman as a person and the other treats her as a walking incubator that you have to check the dials on.
You do know of the concept that women can be pregnant without them realizing or without them acknowledging it?
It’s like asking someone whether they have worms. They might know, but they might also not know. They might even know and not tell you.
All of that can be circumvented with a different question.
So you can choose to be offended by a question that they are actually legally required to ask, or you can understand that the main purpose of a doctor (or other medical personell) is not polite dinner conversation but actually assessing the situation to give appropriate treatment.
Doctors are not legally required to ask. And, barring any interventions from a supernatural being, a woman who has never had sex or hasn’t had sex in a long time cannot get pregnant. Also, women who had hysterectomies can’t get pregnant. Yet when these women tell doctors that there’s no chance they can be pregnant the doctor barrels on saying “yeah but when is your last period?” it is simply an insult to their intelligence and bodily autonomy. You have entirely too much faith in doctors and their “knowledge and integrity”. Doctors are human beings and they are just as fallible as everybody else. And continually asking questions that annoy your patients is not good bedside manner.
And though it’s true that a woman can be pregnant and not know it, they are also capable of understanding that they can’t possibly be pregnant. Because they I’ve been living with their own bodies longer than doctors have been asking them questions about them.
If a doctor doesn’t ask and it turns out the patient is pregnant and the treatment harms the embryo, the doctor is liable for the damages. If she or he doesn’t want to be liable, she or he needs to ask the question.
I know someone who had her ovaries removed and was sure she couldn’t get pregnant anymore. Turns out, for some reason the ovary removal wasn’t complete, a small scrap of ovary was missed, and she got pregnant.
Also it sadly does totally happen that women have had intercourse without them realizing. Look up e.g. Gisèle Pelicot.
And lastly, ask how many women are positive that their contraception is in place and working perfectly and can surely never get pregnant but who still end up getting pregnant.
There are women who carry a baby to completion and only realize at birth that they happened to be pregnant for a full 9 months.
Yes, most women know their own bodies. But some do not. And as a doctor not asking is about as smart as putting your hand into a random strangers dogs mouth because most dogs are well-trained and will not bite your hand off.
Literally not on of those scenarios you brought up would b solved by the question “When was your last period?” These are all edge cases and shit happens.
Also, possible liability is solved by thinking and consideration, not blindly asking pointless questions. It also doesn’t equate to “Legally required”. A woman comes in with a broken arm and you ask “When was your last period?”, she’s gonna be annoyed that you aren’t addressing the fucking broken arm. If you’re gonna give her pain killers or an X-ray, you tell her that they can be harmful to pregnancies and if she’s worried about that then do a preg test, otherwise treat her like a person not a walking incubation pod.
Do you always get annoyed at routine questions? Do you get angry when tech support asks you to turn your PC off and on again? Do you get furious when customer support asks you for your order number?
These things are routine questions. The period question is asked by female doctors too. For a reason.
Why is it so hard for you to understand that doctors are just working off checklists that are proven to work? Doctors aren’t there to make nice dinner conversations but to patch you up in the quickest possible manner with the least amount of mistakes. That’s why checklists exist.
If you know better what kind of information a doctor needs than she herself, why do you even go to one?
You choose to be offended because like many people on the internet you live off being offended. “I am offended, therefore I am.”
Well done, you prioritize being offended over being healthy.
What a ridiculous state of being.