Dec 31, 2019

Menstrual exams, colonoscopies and politics

MK Alex Kushnir (Yisrael Beyteynu) posted the following video on his Twitter account:




in the video Kushnir claims that rabbis who are not sure about the tahara status of a woman send her to the kupat cholim and she immediately gets taken in to be examined and the results get sent to the rabbi. Kushnir claims that this is being done at the expense of the pubnlic and while this woman with a tahara issue gets an immediate appointment, other people are sitting in hospital hallways waiting to be seen by doctors and nurses, in addition to the financials. Kushnir asks if we've gone crazy allowing this, and asks if the next step is the rabbi sending people for a colonoscopy to make sure they are eating kosher food.

While that comparison to a colonoscopy does bring funny images to mind, I am pretty sure Kushnir misunderstood what is going on. Rabbis dont send women to nurses to check if they went to the mikva or to check if they had unauthorized sex or anything like that. Sometimes a woman might bleed and upon consultation the rabbi might be unsure if the blood is from an internal wound or from menstrual spotting and the like. If it is form a wound, a scratch or whatnot, the blood is not a problem of tumah, but if it is menstrual then it would be. If he is unable to determine that matter, he might send her to a nurse for an internal examination. the nurse will determine the source of the bleed and replay the information for a psak as to her status. Kushnir took that a bit too far.

Regarding the other matter. Should Kupat Cholim's be covering this examination under their policy when it is not a medical issue? I don't know. Kupot Cholim offer all sorts of additional services to attract more customers to their kupa, so I don't see it as anything egregious, even if it seems a bit weird. Regarding prioritizing this over other patients, while it is important she get an answer quickly and cannot really wait months for an appointment for this, I trust the kupot and medical to prioritize their resources properly and make sure those in need of urgent care are getting it and not missing out because of these women. Also, the nurse examining this woman is generally not happening at the expense of the cardiologist in the hospital who is not rushing to see the patient in the hallway, or the orthopedist that has not yet sent the guy int he hallway for an xray for his broken leg. If the hospitals want to hire more nurses and doctors to process their patients quicker, that has nothing to do with the nurse working in the local neighborhood medical clinic.






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6 comments:

  1. jasonDecember 31, 2019 5:44 PM

    Ignorant anti semite

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AviDecember 31, 2019 8:06 PM

      A Jew who has issues with religious Jews is not an antisemite.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousJanuary 01, 2020 12:44 AM

      avi, are you contending that a jew can't be an antisemite for hating another group of jews? that's ridiculous.

      Delete
  2. AwesomePseudonymDecember 31, 2019 8:06 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousDecember 31, 2019 8:50 PM

    Is there anything normal left? The world has gone mad and so has the rabbinic world in many instances. Before this crazy and immoral modern era, what did women do? Guess, they were much wiser and had more modesty and didn't visit the rabbi for every thing in their lives. People are definitely not as smart and definitely crazier than ever. These matters, too, are not meant for public review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousDecember 31, 2019 11:18 PM

      the gemara discusses women bringing their questionable "blood" to dovid hamelech for his psak. so i assume that the wise and modest women of your imagination that didn't consult rabbis, went extinct some 2500 years ago or so.

      Delete