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Zenebe Shumye: Every Patient Has the Right to Say Yes or No

Zenebe Shumye/LinkedIn

Aug 23, 2026, 14:21

Zenebe Shumye: Every Patient Has the Right to Say Yes or No

Zenebe Shumye, Chief Gynecologist and Obstetrician at MSI Ethiopia Reproductive Choices, shared on LinkedIn:

“Still its Happening.

A client came to my OPD with her husband. At a glance, something in her eyes told me that a difficult story was about to unfold.

She started to talk, and her husband continued.

‘Doc, for the last two years, we have been at different clinics searching for answers, but still, we couldn’t conceive.’

When I heard their history, Nothing suggested a possible cause, and the physical examination was normal.

Then they gave me their prior investigation results, reviewed carefully, and nothing abnormal.

After having hopeful discussions, we decided to proceed with semen analysis and hysterosalpingography (HSG), which was not in their file of investigations.

When the result arrived, it shocked me.

I asked her again and again, ‘Have you ever used contraception, any pelvic procedure or instrumentation?’

‘No, no, no,’ she insisted.

I rushed for a pelvic ultrasound, despite her previous ultrasound examinations being reported as normal.

When I put the probe there, I saw it.

I told her, ‘Both the HSG and the ultrasound are telling me there is something here.’

We were all confused.

Then I asked and did a speculum examination; nothing visible. Using retrieval forceps, I just tried and gently removed an IUCD, showed her, and I stacked for a while and asked her again.

Then she added, ‘Twelve years ago, when I lived in a rural area, I had a procedure for an abortion which I didn’t want to share at all but they never told me about all this.’

She cried uncontrollably and hugged me like a baby.

It is painful to see that this reality still exists.

She is my third patient in my career with a similar story.

Take home message:

As health professionals, we have no right to make such decisions without informing our patients and obtaining their consent. Whatever we decide to do for our patients, we must explain it clearly and obtain informed consent. Every patient has the right to say yes or no.”

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