Israel ministry rules on contraceptives
2013-01-28 22:06
Jerusalem - Israel's health ministry has warned that
immigrants must not be given contraceptives without their proper consent, after
allegations that Ethiopian women were coerced into taking contraceptive jabs.
The allegations surfaced in December, when an
investigative news programme looking into the declining birth rate of Ethiopian
immigrants to Israel uncovered claims that would-be migrants were told they
would be refused entry to the Jewish state if they did not take Depo Provera
contraceptive injections.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (Acri)
followed up on the allegations with the health ministry, which this week
released a carefully-worded response, warning that contraceptives should not be
administered without explicit consent.
The ministry says it is issuing the letter "without
taking a position or determining facts regarding the claims that have arisen in
this regard”.
But it requests doctors "not to renew prescriptions
for Depo Provera for women of Ethiopian origin or other women about who for
whatever reason there is concern that they did not understand the implications
of the treatment”.
It asks doctors to determine with patients "why
contraception is being used in general and this one in particular, and if she
is asking of her own free will to prevent pregnancy, and if she understands the
side-effects”.
"Of course this should be done in a culturally
appropriate way and if necessary through Ethiopian intermediaries or through
medical translation services," it adds.
While the letter contains no admission that Depo Provera
was administered without consent, Acri said it considered the ministry's
response an important acknowledgement.
"The way that Acri regards this letter from the
ministry of health is as an important recognition that the phenomenon was
indeed occurring," Acri spokesperson Marc Grey told AFP.
According to Israeli media, the birth rate among Israel's
Ethiopian immigrant population has fallen by nearly 20% in the past decade.
One woman interviewed in the original December television
investigation said Ethiopians awaiting transfer to Israel were told those who
refused the contraceptive shots would be denied entry, as well as aid and
medical care.
"We were afraid... We didn't have a choice. Without
them and their aid, we couldn't leave there," Haaretz newspaper quoted the
woman as saying.
More than 120 000 Jews of Ethiopian origin live in
Israel.
For centuries, Jews in Ethiopia were largely cut off from
other Jewish communities, and Israel's religious authorities only belatedly
recognised them as members of the faith.
The move sparked two waves of immigration to Israel, in
1984 and 1991, but Ethiopian immigrants have struggled to integrate into
Israeli society, despite massive government aid.
- SAPA
