Health Minister director general instructs all gynecologists in Israel’s four health maintenance organizations not to inject women with long-acting contraceptive Depo-Provera if they do not understand ramifications of treatment

Israel admits Ethiopian women were given birth control shots

Health Minister director general instructs all gynecologists in Israel’s four health maintenance organizations not to inject women with long-acting contraceptive Depo-Provera if they do not understand ramifications of treatment.

Members of the Falashmura community in Ethiopia, waiting to immigrate to Israel. Photo by Anshel Pfeffer

 

 

 

A government official has for the first time acknowledged the practice of injecting women of Ethiopian origin with the long-acting contraceptive Depo-Provera.

Health Ministry Director General Prof. Ron Gamzu has instructed the four health maintenance organizations to stop the practice as a matter of course.

The ministry and other state agencies had previously denied knowledge or responsibility for the practice, which was first reported five years ago.

Gamzu’s letter instructs all gynecologists in the HMOs “not to renew prescriptions for Depo-Provera for women of Ethiopian origin if for any reason there is concern that they might not understand the ramifications of the treatment.”

He also instructed physicians to avail themselves of translators if need be.

Gamzu’s letter came in response to a letter from Sharona Eliahu-Chai of the Association of Civil Rights in Israel, representing several women’s rights and Ethiopian immigrants’ groups. The letter demanded the injections cease immediately and that an investigation be launched into the practice.

About six weeks ago, on an Educational Television program journalist Gal Gabbay revealed the results of interviews with 35 Ethiopian immigrants. The women’s testimony could help explain the almost 50-percent decline over the past 10 years in the birth rate of Israel’s Ethiopian community.According to the program, while the women were still in transit camps in Ethiopia they were sometimes intimidated or threatened into taking the injection. “They told us they are inoculations,” said one of the women interviewed. “They told us people who frequently give birth suffer. We took it every three months. We said we didn’t want to.”

1 COMMENT

  1. isaaq are always intrested in Ethiopian and Yahuud news. Why is that ? because one is their master and the other one is their ancestors.

    • I would rather in an Israeli then a Yemeni Akhdam… Go clean the shit of the walls of Muuqdishu.

      The Yahood were stateless for 4000years and finally they created a state by force. Imagine the day Faqash is being evicted from Bari and Nugaal.

      🙂 Revenge is sweet even if it comes 4000years later.

    • @ faqash

      Sh.darood was a shoe thief from Yemen. He escaped to the horn because they were going to cut off his hand.

      What man steals the shoes of people praying to Allah .

  2. That is some shady stuff.

    as for the fa q a sh you lot were not known for your intelligence so, I guess arguing would be like talking to a hot steaming pile of shhhh.

  3. @ faqash

    Sh.darood was a shoe thief from Yemen. He escaped to the horn because they were going to cut off his hand.

    What man steals the shoes of people praying to Allah .