Woman's bizarre experience with a gynecologist sparks discussion about bodily autonomy

Doctors are trusted for their medical expertise, but there’s a fine line between providing sound advice and denying care based on outdated beliefs. Two years ago, a woman named Rachel (@RachChamp_) went viral on X (formerly Twitter) after sharing her frustrating experience with a gynecologist who refused to perform a procedure due to his personal views. Her post garnered 406K likes and over 4.1K comments.

Rachel sought a hysterectomy to relieve severe period pain. The Cleveland Clinic explains that this procedure involves removing the uterus, making pregnancy impossible and stopping periods. While there are valid medical reasons to deny a hysterectomy, her doctor instead claimed Rachel might one day divorce her wife, change her sexual orientation, and want children with a man.

It goes to show just how backward certain people's perspectives are even today. The woman further shared that she was 27 years old at the time and had been feeling immense pain whenever she got her periods starting from the age of 10. This was not the first time she sought professional medical help for the problem. The woman shares, "I've had two surgeries (1 with ovarian drilling), tried three different contraceptive pills, the Mirena coil, and have tried every combination of painkillers. Nothing has helped."

She asked the gynecologist for any medical backing for his advice, which he couldn't provide. The man simply stated that it was not an option because she was too young and that the pain from her periods was clouding her decision-making skills. The woman had no trust in this doctor and decided to go ahead and get it scanned. She replied to her original thread with an update on the test result. The test diagnosed her with adenomyosis and polycystic ovarian morphology.

According to the Mayo Clinic, Adenomyosis is a peculiar condition where the tissue that usually lines the uterus begins growing into the muscular wall of the uterus. The displaced tissue behaves normally during menstruation. But, this condition results in an enlarged uterus, which can cause painful and heavy periods. Polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM) is a condition where ovulatory disorder and oligomenorrhea are present due to hypothalamic, pituitary, and ovarian dysfunction according to BioMed Central

Finally, she received the news that she would have to get a hysterectomy and described feeling vindicated. People also found the doctor's suggestion unnecessary and not at all professional, so they shared their insights in the comments section. @emerce said, "I cannot understand why gynecologists defend the reproductive rights of random hypothetical future husbands over the rights to a healthy, pain-free life for their own very real, present patients. @MarkBourrie commented, "Your gynecologist should know there are lots of easier ways to get pregnant. But doctors never listen to women anyway."

Editor's note: This article was originally published on 12.09.23. It has since been updated.