Are Male Gynecologists Biblical?

Are Male Gynecologists Biblical?

A majority of Christians and non-Christians believe in situational ethics. But God has always been the God of moral absolutes.

The bible makes it clear that nudity before a sexually mature person of the opposite sex except for spouse is wrong. It is strange that many pastors, ministries, and Christians preach that women should dress modestly to help men to stay pure in thoughts, but they see nothing wrong with male gynecologists. This is a huge cultural blind spot. People tend to accept almost anything that the medical industry does because our culture sees doctors as the definitive “experts” on the human body. Often Christians fall into this trap; they submit to a doctor’s methods without questioning, but often doctor’s methods go against God’s nature. The medical industry has indoctrinated many of us to accept that gender of the doctor does not matter for intimate procedures and that we should focus on their skills. Medical school did not follow Biblical standards when they decided to let male doctors examine intimate parts of women.

Nakedness became wrong after both Adam and Eve sinned, but it was still allowable between a husband and a wife. Eve and Adam were ashamed for others to see them naked, but not each other because they were one flesh. Genesis 2:25 reads, “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” Leviticus 18: God goes into great detail condemning nakedness between opposite sex such as brother and sister, father and daughter, mother and son, aunt and nephew, uncle and niece, grandfather and granddaughter, and the list goes on and on. The Bible simply states that it is wrong for a man to uncover the nakedness of someone else's wife even if sex is not involved, and nowhere is there a disclaimer given for male doctors.

The practice of male doctors examining the private parts of women to whom they are not married to is a very disgusting practice and unfounded in God’s word. There is no evidence in the bible that God allows men (including doctors) to touch and see private parts of women to whom they are not married to. 1 Corinthians 7:1 makes it clear that a man should not touch the private parts of a woman who is not his wife. Also, look at this verse in Proverbs 6:29: So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; Whoever touches her shall not be innocent. God also admonishes us repeatedly throughout the Bible to be fully clothed. The male gynecologist “goes in” to many other men’s wives and touches them.

There were no pap smears in the Bible. Pap smears were not invented until around 1928. Midwives delivered babies in the bible. Look at how a male medical student wrote an article about “Why Women Should Accept And Actively Seek Out a Male Gynecologist”. He was disturbed that there is a big increase in female gynecologists and that many women prefer female gynecologists today. We do not support his argument that women should seek out male gynecologists. However, he wrote about the historical progression of pelvic examination and how men were not allowed to examine women’s sexual organs before 1800s. This proves the point that men were actually not allowed to examine women’s private parts in the Bible. This author has it right that women were not allowed in medical schools and that’s why we only had male gynecologists for many years. Look at his important section about historical progression of pelvic exam below:

“The oldest medical text known to man is the "Kahun Gynecological Papyrus", written by the Egyptians around 1800 BCE. The papyrus provides a glance into early gynecological medicine and unveils the traditions of reproduction, conception and delivery in ancient Egypt. For the Egyptians, the main treatment modalities provided by the "swnw" (pronounced sounou, physician figure) were founded on pharmacopoeia from animals, plants and minerals; surgical intervention was never recommended (2). Magic spells were whispered, as it was believed that diseases were demonic in origin.

Due to compliance with religious doctrine, men were not allowed to be present at births or at other rituals that dealt with the intimate parts of a woman. Instead, it was the role of the midwife to take care of women and to assist them with their gynecological needs. Interestingly enough, the "Kahun Papyrus" provides some of the earliest evidence of midwifery in history.

Similarly, in the middle ages, it was often the norm for a woman's sexual organs to be examined by midwives, nurses or other females who previously had had similar problems to the patient's. By the early 1800's, with the advent of modern medical degrees and physical examinations, the pelvic exam began to be performed by male physicians, as women were not allowed to enroll in medical school. However, this examination was a variation of the modern version as it consisted of a "compromise" in which the physician kneeled before the woman but did not directly inspect her genitals, only palpated them. In addition, it was during this period that the use of a chaperone became a part of the clinical examination. The chaperone's role was to emotionally support and reassure the patient during a procedure that she found embarrassing or uncomfortable. The chaperone also acted as a witness in cases of malfeasance by the physician. Today, in many parts of the world where religious and cultural precepts often discourage female encounters with male physicians, chaperones still attend gynecological examinations.

By the 1970's, only 9% of enrolled medical students in the United States were women (3). The numbers have drastically increased since then: now 58% of medical students are women (4), yet there are still disparities in gender among the specialties. In Obstetrics and Gynecology, female residency enrolment rates have quadrupled from 1978 to the present, leaving men in the minority (women account for 71.8% of Obs/Gyn residents today). Between 1989 and 2002, the proportion of female Ob/Gyn residents rose from 44% to 74% while the proportion of female graduating medical students only increased from 33% to 44% (5).”

The reason we did not have female gynecologists many years ago was due to the fact that medical schools would not admit women. This was a HUGE mistake. A number of women have very high risk pregnancies so it would not be safe for them to give birth with midwives. While it is wonderful that we have improvements in the medical field such as C-Sections that have cut down on maternal deaths and surgeries for gynecologic cancers, it does not mean that male gynecologists are okay. Only women should have been allowed to become gynecologists in the beginning. Take time to research some history. Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell was the first female gynecologist. Look at how she became a doctor because one of her dying friends who probably had uterine cancer was more comfortable with a female doctor. Thankfully, there has been a big increase in female gynecologists in the 21st century. But there are still some rural areas and cities that do not have enough female gynecologists and gynecologic oncologists.

Check out the history of modern gynecology article on Medical Patient Modesty’s web site. Notice how there was opposition by midwives and even some male doctors in the beginning when male doctors began to do pelvic exams on women. Look at the drawing of a male doctor tending to a woman’s private parts on that article. This is when they first introduced men to do gynecological procedures on women. It is interesting about how they slowly introduced male doctors to do gynecological procedures by allowing a male doctor to only touch her genitals, but not see them because it was wrong. They eventually worked to allow a male doctor to have full access to a woman’s breasts and genitals. Our culture often introduces sins into the world by trying to compromise them to make them not look as “wrong”.

The abortion issue is similar to opposite sex intimate medical care. Abortion was not performed in the bible, but infanticide was. There are plenty of bible verses that indicate that life begins at conception and that an unborn baby is human. For example, look at this verse: Jeremiah 1:5: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you. I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” We know murder is wrong based on God’s word so that is how we know abortion is wrong. Think about it this way: it is wrong for a man to shoot a pregnant woman in the stomach and kill her unborn baby, but it is okay for a doctor to kill an unborn baby through abortion in the name of medicine according to the pro-choice movement. Both the man and the doctor are equally guilty of murder. It is wrong for a person who is not in the medical profession to examine and touch private parts of a sexually mature person of the opposite sex she/he is not married to, but it is okay for a doctor or nurse to do that in name of medicine. It is ridiculous because God has the same standards for everyone including medical professionals.

This argument, “Male gynecologist has seen so many naked women that it no longer affects him” is ridiculous. If that was true, why is it so hard for a man who constantly looks at pornography to give up pornography? The desire to see more naked women actually increases. Jesus makes it clear that it is wrong for men to lust after women even if they do not act on their thoughts. Jesus makes this bold statement: “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28). Even good male doctors and nurses are prone to have lustful thoughts when they see female patients naked.

Rare is the man who can approach the idea of being asked to touch a naked female in her intimate parts in any context without a hint of sexuality entering his mind. Even if a male doctor did not have any lustful thoughts toward a female patient he did an intimate procedure on, it is still wrong because it twists God’s word on modesty. A man is not supposed to see or touch private parts of a sexually mature woman who is not his wife.

It is ridiculous about how moral standards do not apply in medical settings. What about men being professional bra fitters? Think about how most customers and employees at clothing stores would label a man who wanted to be a bra fitter a pervert. Why are professional standards different for non-medical people?

Also think about this another scenario: A teenage daughter has a tampon stuck and she needs help to retrieve it. Her mom tried to retrieve it, but could not. The girl's father is better than her mother at retrieving things. Would it be appropriate for the girl's father to retrieve the tampon simply because he is more experienced than his wife? If the girl's mom cannot retrieve the tampon, they should look for another woman to retrieve it. The same should be true of doctor.

The truth is most people in our society would accuse the father in this scenario of incest if he helped to remove a tampon from his teenage daughter even if he had great intentions, but they would not look down on a male doctor removing the teenage girl’s tampon simply because he is a doctor. This is ridiculous because a male doctor is still a man like the father.

Don’t listen to the argument that a male doctor is the best for your case because he is one of the top doctors in the area or he has performed thousands of surgeries successfully. You should look for a female doctor until you find the one that is skilled for your case even if it means traveling farther. There are many talented female gynecologists today.

The Bible makes clear that ever since the fall of man, nudity was meant to be associated with sexuality. God has same moral standards for everyone. Medical professionals are not exempt.

Even some people who never or seldom read Scriptures know deep down inside that opposite gender nakedness is wrong. Even secular women express concern, embarrassment, discomfort and other things when forced to see male gynecologists. There have also been numerous accounts of incidents that mostly involve sexual abuse by male doctors and unnecessary intimate procedures, which would indicate that their concerns are well founded. One atheist woman has expressed that she does not understand why Christians are okay with opposite sex intimate medical care. She has actually studied the bible some and has talked about how she noticed that many Christians do not really follow God’s word on different issues including modesty.

It is sad that many Christians who preach about purity to teenage girls and young women fail to address that they should not go to a male gynecologist because it takes the privilege away from their future husband to be the only man to see them naked and touch their private parts. Two of the best gifts that a young lady can give her future husband are: 1.) her virginity and 2.) The privilege of being the only man in the world who can see her naked and touch her private parts. Male doctors are definitely not exempt. It is heartbreaking that some male gynecologists have done unnecessary premarital exams on young women who are virgins and that they see those women’s private parts before their husbands.

To Christian women reading this article who have gone to a male gynecologist, we encourage you to never go back to a male gynecologist and make a commitment to go to only a female doctor, nurse practitioner, or midwife for female health issues in the future. We all desire to be covered and to feel respected. The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:23: “And those members of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our less respectable parts have greater respect.” This is something the culture has dismissed because our society teaches that doctors are experts on the body & they know what is best for you and that modesty is not important. The medical industry is very powerful and they have lost their moral compass, and that, in doing so, have trained many people to accept that pretty much anything is okay in name of medicine even when they go against God’s word. Please pray about sharing this article with other Christians and exposing the truth about how male gynecologists are against God’s will.

All people reading this article are encouraged to go to Medical Patient Modesty’s web site at www.patientmodesty.org to check out what steps you need to take to make sure your wishes for modesty in medical settings are honored.

If this article convicted you or you have already been enlightened to the truth that male gynecologists were wrong before you read this article, we would love to hear from you. It is always encouraging to hear from Christians who can see the truth about this difficult issue. Please contact us by email.

Check out our videos, Modesty in Medical Settings From a Biblical Perspective and How Should Christians Respond to Gender Neutral Restrooms & Opposite Sex Intimate Medical Care?