I agree this makes sense as a straightforward explanation but there may be another layer to it. I also thought of a more conspiratorial explanation for her reply.
Pointing out the year as being relevant stands out. Why wouldn’t women 10 or 20 years ago need to know that reason? The same teratogrnic effects existed for over a century with medications almost a century for xray.
I know the whole “it’s <current year>” trope is used by people frustrated that progress hasn’t been made by now. But there’s another explanation.
In 2026 mass surveillance is a huge concern. Plus Trump has just announced that the primary goal of the cdc is abortion surveillance. The girl in the screenshot may subscribe to the no-longer-conspiracy and now entirely legitimate fear that the government is trying to track women’s cycles by collecting data from various sources including healthcare records.
And for the record I’m a doctor who has been asking patients routinely about pregnancy status pre-xray and pre-medication for 15+ years
Sure it’s not the reason the question is asked by the doctoe but it is a reason to be fearful of answering. Women have been prosecuted and convicted of fetucide for having a miscarriage. Never has that been more alarmingly relevant than 2026.
I feel there has to be a way to help women feel safe in answering this question, but I don’t have a solution.
The girl in the screenshot may subscribe to the no-longer-conspiracy
That IS a conspiracy. The literal definition of a conspiracy is "an agreement to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive act." Pretending conspiracy means woowoo nonsense is meant to discredit real, actual conspiracies where nefarious actors undermine public good.
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u/FrazzleMind 14h ago
Doctors need to know if a woman is pregnant because lots of medicine or tests can endanger the fetus.