Me at ER for cardiac issues

Dr: “Could you be pregnant?”

Me: “No I had a hysterectomy”

Dr: “You look too young for that? Are you sure?”

Me: “I’m confident”

Dr: “I think you might be confused. Maybe it was your appendix.”

Proceeds to order pregnancy test

I’ve had this interaction more times than I can count

Healthcare workers think I’m “too young” to have had a hysterectomy and automatically assume I’m confusing my womb with another organ.

They ask endless questions, only to end up doing a pregnancy test anyways

Perhaps there are patients who confuse their uterus for their appendix, but I would imagine that’s exceedingly rare

The battle I went through to get my hysterectomy was long and arduous. It involved many physicians lecturing me about how I would never be able to have children

Asking insensitive questions like:

“Don’t you want to be a Mom?”

“You might want biological children, many women do”

“What happens if you meet your dream man and he leaves you for being barren?”

You don’t have to endure this type of insulting and misogynistic third degree to get your appendix or gallbladder removed.

They inform you of the surgical risks, you consent, the end.

There’s simply no plausible way to confuse the removal of a WOMB with an appendix

Despite these obvious facts, I’ve had countless doctors assume I’m wrong. That I couldn’t possibly have lost my uterus and it must have been something less important.

I’ve even had “patient CLAIMS hysterectomy”’written in my chart.

Why someone would lie about something so easy to prove or disprove is beyond me.

The end result is always a delay in care while we argue and then wait for an unnecessary pregnancy test which always comes back negative.

Surely we can do better?

I understand that doctors must have a degree of skepticism, and that the price of missing a pregnancy can be incredibly high.

I’m not opposed to them running a pregnancy test if that’s what they feel they need to do.

I am opposed to the delays and gaslighting

It was traumatic to lose my uterus at a young age. The healthcare workers who inundated me with misogynistic questions & put a hypothetical man before me and my health? They didn’t make it any easier.

I feel that trauma all over again whenever I’m questioned about pregnancy

I wish we could endeavour to either TRUST our patient, or just run the pregnancy test without all the unnecessary and (often) rude comments.

I don’t object to the test, I object to the way I’m treated leading up to the test.

Patients know their body best. We know the difference between a womb and an appendix. We know when we’re being talked down to and mistreated.

It causes trauma. Makes us less likely to trust the provider and far less likely to seek care in the future

Please treat your patients with the dignity they deserve. Don’t judge them on how they look, the chronic illness or disability they have or their gender or sexual orientation. Listen to them. Work with them. Let them be a partner in their care.

We can do better together /end
After the hysterectomy I also had a post op complication that was ignored by the ER three times. I had a life threatening internal bleed, but was sent home without tests because they thought I was “exaggerating”.

We MUST listen to patients. I only survived because my accidental advocate stepped up

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/my-most-dangerous-er-experience-and

Please SUPPORT #HB606 Right to Medically Advisable Sterilization

To support in person, please come to the committee hearing:
Date: Mar 12, 2025
Time: 09:30 AM

Legislative Office Building
Room 202-204
33 North State St
Concord, NH 03301

To log remote support or send remote testimony, go to:

https://gc.nh.gov/house/committees/remotetestimony/

And enter the following information as requested:

Date: MARCH 12

Committee: HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND ELDERLY AFFAIRS

BILL: HB 606, 9:30am

You would be commenting as a member of the public, speaking for yourself.

Choose: SUPPORT

If you would like to include personal testimony with any links to support your position you would upload an attachment or type into the text box at this time.

Click SUBMIT

To read the bill as introduced:
https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/billinfo.aspx?id=889&inflect=2

The amendment reads as:

329:31-c Right to Appropriate Reproductive Care for Medical Conditions.

I. If a patient who is 18 years of age or older has a medical condition for which a medically advisable course of treatment or precautionary measure may include a procedure or medication that leaves the patient sterile or unable to have children, the physician shall not deny the treatment on the basis of age, number of children, marital status, or the physician's speculation of the patient's reproductive intentions contrary to the patient's statement. The physician may require the patient to sign an informed consent and waive all damages from the procedure related to sterilization. A physician who violates this right may be disciplined pursuant to chapter.

II. A patient who has signed an informed consent or a waiver and proceeds with appropriate reproductive care for a medical condition shall have no civil right of action against any health care provider or health care institution on the basis of the patient being rendered sterile or unable to have children. T
his paragraph shall not provide immunity against any purposeful, reckless, or negligent act of a health care provider or health care institution.

III. For purposes of this section, "medical condition" means any disease, disorder, syndrome, symptoms, genetic predisposition or family medical history, or the state of being medicated, that either affect the reproductive system, or make reproduction not advisable either for the medical interest of the patient or for potential children. "Appropriate reproductive care for a medical condition" shall include the following: a hysterectomy (uterus), oophorectomy (ovaries), orchiectomy (testicles), salpingectomy (fallopian tubes), endometrial ablation, or medications that may affect fertility.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.