Tippis says:

Living in the country in question, I’d just like to make a correction on this little tidbit: “In Sweden ‘patriarchal traditions’ is code for the Muslims.”

Patriarchal traditions isn’t code for anything. It is exactly what it says. It does not willy-nilly include all forms of islam, nor is it in any way limited to various forms of islam.

Or, put another way: what is your source on this bit of misinformation? And: whatever that source is, I suggest you stop using it.

Jim Smith says:

Tippis: my condolences on the sad fact that you live in Sweden. This story is another example of how repressive the Swedish government really is.

How sad is it when women (or anyone for that matter) are forced to go to the doctor that the government assigns to them. A GYN exam is an intimate thing. The patient has a right to choose whomever she is comfortable with for whatever reason.

Big deal that there is an exception for sexual assault. Do you know that most sexual assaults on women are never reported? Therefore, most women who have been assaulted will have no record of the fact anywhere. Is the Swedish government going to require proof of sexual assault before a women gets to choose her own doctor?

All this is going to do is deter women from getting proper care. My wife had a very bad experience with a male GYN she was force to see by her insurance company. She didn’t go back for three years, even though she had symptoms of a problem. She ended up needing surgery that might have been avoided.

If forcing a woman to submit to a GYN exam against her will isn’t rape, it is pretty close. Why would Sweden do this? Because it is a totalitarian state which does not allow for tolerance.

venom monger says:

Patriarchal traditions isn’t code for anything. It is exactly what it says.

I’d rather hear from someone living in Sweden who IS NOT a muslim.

JoaoPT says:

Funny how things are…For me, and a lot more people too, Sweden’s countryside and rural buildings looks mostly like Northern USA. In fact the film Dancer in the dark was totally shot over there posing as a smalltown USA…curious, but not related to the topic… Anyway, southern Europe people could also be placed in the “patriarchal traditions” label. So what.
I guess Sweden is way too “correct” for it’s own good…

Martin says:

Living in Sweden, being a doctor, being an inborn Swede, having worked both here and in Belgium, two different systems, I do have a perspective to share. Not being a gynecologist, but a GP, I can’t comment on the specific case. In those cases where a patient preferred any particular doctor or “type” of doctor, I’ve never encountered anyone who wouldn’t be willing to arrange for that, informally, if in the least possible. There are always exceptions, as everywhere, of course. Idiots are a constant.
First, the “patriarchal” thing does not necessarily mean muslims, but in practice that’s what it implies. But the nicety is that it does not exclude others, if need be. Catholic nuns, maybe?
The country is not, as some of the commenters would like to believe, even remotely communist. Sorry about that.
The medical system is based on providing care in a pretty regulated way. It’s very hard to choose your own doctor, and doctors aren’t very serviceminded because of this. It’s a “doctor’s” market, reinforced by a fairly bad scarcity of physicians. Which, in turn, is due to the not-to-exuberant pay scales.
There is an increasing level of discussion about privatisation of parts of the medical system, and several clinics are already private, but reimbursed through the state. There’s nothing politically impossible about changing the system, but nobody takes anything but small steps.
The big problem is that the Swedish healthcare is so darned good, according to statistics, and I, for one, find that strange. Especially since I don’t think this system is as good as it should be. I can’t reconcile that, and I’m not alone in that.