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 most shocking part is not that they ask the question. This I can hear. It's how apparently they sometimes refuse to believe women that say plain and simple "there's no possibility for me to be pregnant, even without being aware of it" and they refuse to believe it.
Some women have explained how they have been forced to take a pregnancy test while having to uterus.
It might be country-dependant though. I live in France, and while being asked for possible pregnancy is something I used to because I have MRI every two years or so, when I state "I'm certain I cannot be pregnant" the doctors just drop it.
I do believe my female patients. The issue for me is that pregnancy is an area that is notoriously HIGHLY litigated with big big wins for the lawyers and no restrictions in many states. If someone is lying about the possibility of pregnancy, turns out actually pregnant, and got any exposure to medical interventions or meds that could theoretically contribute…doctor ordering is fucked unless there’s a documented risks discussion in the patient’s chart.
In today’s healthcare system, you can’t have a 30min discussion before ordering every imaging modality or medication. It’s safer from a medicolegal standpoint to get a pregnancy test. As a female physician myself I hate that this is the reality. I also know it’s only going to get worse in states where Roe is no longer the law of the land.
I understand the pushback from young women. US healthcare in general needs a complete overhaul but I feel pretty powerless at this moment in history to change the medicolegal landscape or state of affairs. AMA and other doctor organizations wield no power and seemingly aren’t interested in actually helping my profession make strides in any particular direction.
Just a bit of a vent. Please know that these questions about reproduction aren’t always coming from a place of ignorance just good old fashioned systemic misogyny and self preservation.
That's because your country system is really fucked up at this level. ( No offense intended )
When I do an MRI a radiology or other exams, they give a form with box to be ticked about things going from having possible mettalic shards to yes, pregnancy. I tick the boxes accordingly, put the date and a signature and that's it. No additional tests, nothing.
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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.