Excerpted from The Guardian 3.14.2019
French Health minister Agnes Buzyn calls protest about lack of medical insurance âtaking women hostageâ
A French gynaecologistsâ union has threatened to halt pregnancy terminations in an attempt to force the countryâs health minister to meet disgruntled doctors.
Health minister Agnès Buzyn (pictured below) and feminist organisations said the threat was âunacceptableâ and amounted to âtaking women hostageâ.
The feminist organisation Osez le FĂŠminisme tweeted: âSyngof threatens an abortion strike. They could have had a cervical smear strike, non? This from the same union which called abortion a homicideâ.
The Syngof union wrote to its 1,600 members calling them to be prepared to stop carrying out abortions to âmake ourselves heardâ and force the governmentâs hand.
Syngof, which represents about a quarter of Franceâs gynaecologists and obstetricians, published the letter as a protest over what it claims is a lack of insurance funds for colleagues convicted of medical errors.
In a statement Buzyn wrote: âIn no case should taking women hostage in this way be used as a lever for negotiations or for media coverage of an issue the department is following very closely.â
