Should Gynecologists be Allowed to Treat Men? [View all]

[The Straight Story]

Should Gynecologists be Allowed to Treat Men?


The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology has ordered all OB/GYN physicians in the United States to stop treating male patients, including those diagnosed with cancer.

First announced in September, the decision has sparked a heated debate within the medical profession, and threatened the continuation of numerous studies and clinical trials.

But the group has no intention of changing its position, according to Dr. Kenneth L. Noller, the board’s director of evaluation.

Another official, executive director Dr. Larry C. Gilstrap, told The New York Times that OB/GYNs need to get back to focusing on problems with women’s reproductive system, and allow other doctors to help men who have increasingly turned to gynecologists in recent years.

He explained that the board’s decision was prompted by a desire to counter the tarnishing of the OB/GYN specialty’s image “by members who had strayed into moneymaking sidelines, like testosterone therapy for men, and liposuction and other cosmetic procedures for both women and men,” wrote the Times’ Denise Grady.

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