Patient talks about hospital refusing to apply IUD and alleging religious issues

Leonor Macedo was surprised when she went to an appointment with a gynecologist at Hospital São Camilo.

During the follow-up, the doctor informed that she could not apply the IUD to the patient due to religious reasons at the hospital, which is located in São Paulo.

In an exclusive interview with Máxima, Leonor told how the whole situation was. “I went to my first gynecological consultation at Hospital São Camilo. It was an annual consultation, but I also went with the intention of talking about IUD placement. Recently, I had to stop taking the contraceptive pill, because I had a spike in hypertension and I’m over 40 years old, which can be harmful, is harmful to women’s health. The doctor explained everything to me, talked about the possibilities, what were available on the market.”, said.

“Afterwards, she said that the only thing was that he couldn’t be placed there, that she couldn’t be placed in that hospital, because São Camilo is a religious institution, linked to the Catholic Church and they don’t perform this procedure here. I was fine in shock when she said it. That never crosses her mind. She said she could do it in her private office, she didn’t refuse to do it, quite the opposite, she said I could do it privately.”, she narrated.

Leonor said she decided to post it on social media. “I wrote it on Twitter the next day and it generated astonishment, commotion and outrage among people. It then generated some comments defending the hospital from other people. That wasn’t the issue, it wasn’t religious intolerance. The point it was to draw attention to an issue of women’s rights to family planning and reproduction, a right to something already established, which is the fact that I can use my contraceptive method.”, he said.

She said that the hospital contacted her: “The hospital contacted me to reaffirm that they do not perform the procedure for religious reasons, but that this does not only happen to women. According to them, the hospital also does not perform vasectomy. They can prescribe contraceptives, but cannot place the IUD, because for them, basically, it is something like an abortifacient.”

“This raised a lot of doubts in my mind, but for them, it is a contraceptive method on top of something already fertilized, that is, a life. But it is something that doesn’t make sense, since a vasectomy isn’t it and they don’t do it either. It seems to me like an intervention in your right not to reproduce.”, commented.

Leonor said that the story went viral and she became the target of nasty comments. “I told this story and it had a lot of repercussions. Many people cursed me, conservative people. It became crazy. I have great mental health, I don’t read these messages insulting me.”, he spoke.

“It resonated and opened up very important conversations. It brought discussions for people who can change laws. It brought many important discussions to understand if something can be changed and if this will generate change for other women who are trying to seek help. This had to be more accessible This discussion has to be open to everyone.”he said.

Finally, she said she sought professional help to resolve the situation. “I looked for lawyers who will make a formal complaint and we’ll see what will happen.”concluded.

In a note, the institution said that, as it is Catholic, it chooses not to carry out the procedure.

Do you think it’s easy to be a woman? Yesterday I went to an appointment at Hospital São Camilo and the doctor informed me that she cannot insert IUDs in women because it goes against the religious values ​​of the institution. 🫠🫠🫠

— Leonor Macedo (@subversiva) January 23, 2024