Israeli doctors are bracing for the devastating possibility that some women held hostage by Hamas may have been raped and impregnated by their captors.
Experts and medical centers across Israel are internally debating how to approach the physical and mental condition of a female hostage who may now be several weeks pregnant after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. ing. Reported by Hebrew publication Maariv
“We don't know how they will cope, but we must prepare now for the terrifying theoretical possibility that women will conceive or raise such children. We have to stop them and not allow prisoners to die there, bring them back and provide them with care,” said Professor Tal Biron Shental, head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba. .
Depending on the circumstances of the pregnancy and the age of the mother, pregnant women in Israel can apply for an abortion up to the moment of childbirth. According to the Ministry of Health.
Early-stage abortions require the use of oral medication to expel the pregnancy, while later-term abortions require a riskier procedure in which a syringe called Maariv Siad is used to stop the fetal heart. Become.
Women who may have become pregnant while in Hamas captivity must seek immediate medical attention or face health risks from immunosuppression that occurs during pregnancy, as well as potential complications from late-term abortions, the paper said. pointed out.
Victims will also be forced to deal with the psychological effects of their condition.
Professor Hagai Levin, president of the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians and medical director of the POW Families Headquarters, said: “As the days of confinement pass, the task of terminating advanced pregnancies becomes increasingly complex and difficult.”
“Stress, a contaminated environment, and a lack of medical supervision compound the complications and risks of a mother's pregnancy, before considering the horrific psychological aspects,” he continued.
“We have been asking for a long time to be allowed to transfer medical examinations and medicines. God forbid, if there is a captive woman who has become pregnant through rape, it is imperative that we bring her home urgently.” ” concluded Mr. Levine.
Sunday marked 100 days since October 7, when more than 200 people were kidnapped from southern Israel by Hamas terrorists, taken to the Gaza Strip and held hostage in the terror group's labyrinth of underground tunnels.
Some 136 hostages are believed to be still being held in Gaza, and preliminary investigations indicate the female victims may have been raped both during the initial attack and while in captivity.
Last week, sources close to both sides hinted that talks were progressing between Israel and Hamas to deliver medical supplies to hostages in Gaza, but their comments did not specify specifically about the possibility of prenatal resources. It wasn't mentioned.
“The human brain has a hard time understanding the situation of a prisoner of war who has to deal not only with pregnancy, but also with the fact that she became pregnant through a brutal rape by a murderous terrorist,” Biron-Schental added. .
“Performing an abortion is a procedure that we are all familiar with and are skilled at. However, the main challenge that states currently have to deal with is the terrifying and daunting psychological trauma. “When the baby feels it and the belly becomes visibly bigger, it naturally becomes attached to the fetus,” he says.
