Need further evidence of the silliness of a gender-segregated society?

Story here. Excerpt:

'Sometimes, a woman just feels more comfortable if she is surrounded by women at certain vulnerable times. Even if her husband is with her.

Now for the first time ever, a new emergency medical service for women only, by women only, has begun ambulance service in the Boro Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.

The neighborhood is home to a high concentration of Chassidic Jewish families, where most women do not feel comfortable being treated by men in the ambulances, even Jewish ones.

And up to now, the Jewish Hatzoloh emergency medical service has refused to allow women to serve on its crews, even under really awkward circumstances when pregnant women are in labor or actually about to give birth. Many women have complained about that situation for years. Qualified Jewish religious female emergency medical technicians (EMTs) have offered to work on Hatzoloh ambulances as well, but all have been turned away.

Finally, someone has done something about it.'

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Comments

Such idiotic situations are not limited to one religious sect in particular, in this case, Chassidic Jews. No, you can find examples of such insanity in many parts of the world, in several different religious contexts. Notice that it started with no-female-EMTs-allowed. Well then, naturally, if the same society establishing that restriction also establishes a restriction on the part of its female members to be touched or seen in some degree of nakedness, even under clinical circumstances, of course they have no other recourse but to take matters into their own hands or else face possible and preventable death or unnecessary injury.

If anyone wonders why I am against the move to single-sex-ify public spaces or services, you can see why. I don't care if it's in the name of religion or anything else. Unless there's a very clear and practical reason to keep a space or service (particularly a public space or public/common service/carrier) single-sex, then it should not be. Bathrooms, single sex? Yes. Hotel floors, single sex? No. You get the idea.

I have in the recent past advocated for single-sex colleges, especially men's colleges. This is not because I like the idea. It's because at this point, it seems the safest way for men to get a college education without fearing for their reputation and personal liberty, just to name a couple things. This is because neither the US gov't nor colleges seem to have the spine to stand up to feminists and say "No, we won't go along with your nutsery." It's that simple. That's all they have to do. But apparently, they can't bring themselves to do it. Sad indeed.

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It's a private organization providing the service. I don't really mind stuff like this as long as everyone has the same opportunity to form such groups or policies. Just like I don't think boys scouts should have to accept girls. I basically think private citizens can spend their money and time any way they want. So if Jewish customers want to pay for this, or if jewish volunteers want to provide it, it's fine with me. It's no different then paying to send your kids to an all boy or all girl school or to a Jewish or Catholic school, or a man requesting a male doctor to treat his erectile disfunction or an MRA charity group only helping men.

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Generally I concur with your point. However there are certain areas wherein life and limb are at stake. There are also legally-classified "common carriers" of various types wherein their status as privately-owned operations doesn't grant them the right to deny service arbitrarily or for unlawful reasons.

An example: Airlines. Airlines are common carriers, meaning they can't refuse to sell a ticket to someone and/or permit them to board a plane for unlawful reasons, such as a person's sex, ethnicity, religion, etc. Same for buses. As for hotels, they are considered "public accommodations", meaning like airlines (and buses), they can't restrict access to buying room time based on indellible characteristics (w/ the inclusion of religion). Of course details vary a bit from state to state, but this is the general idea. However even common carriers and accomodators can reduce prices when selling to groups (i.e., group discounts), since this is seen simply as a market phenom (e.g.: the sales convention gets a "special rate" per room since they are bringing in 200 customers for 5 days guaranteed, and that's OK. However if you discount all rooms for ppl of a certain color, etc., that's illegal).

That all said, back to the "women-only ambulance": Imagine your husband/dad/brother has a coronary and he goes into arrest. Someone who knows CPR starts doing it to him, but he needs an epi shot soon. It's a hot day, and all the ambulance cos.' crews are out on calls -- except this new less-known all-woman company. But there's a problem w/ them going to help your dad/husband/brother b/c they are male. Now, he dies waiting for a different cos.' ambulance. Still think this females-only ambulance idea is still good?

Point I'm making is when you need an ambulance w/ trained ppl on it, that's what you need. And any ideology, incl. a religion, that insists on organizing the society in which it resides, is putting doctrine over humanity. I can't approve.

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Matt, anyone in the medical field has a legal duty to provide care in an emergency situation in which you described. No where in the article does it indicate that the medical team would not repsond to save "life and limb" if they came across such an emergency.

I read your post and I don't think you have a good understanding of private health care in the USA. Doctors, nurses, EMT, paramedics, etc have no obligation to work in the public sector and many don't. And many people choose a doctor for all kinds of reasons beyond their professional credentials. And many medical professionals limit their patient intake to a certain region or certain conditions. There are many private ambulance services which cater to certain people and certain conditions.

This is a private ambulance service, not public. 9-1-1 public service is still available for this community for anyone to use.

Now take your airline example in which I assume you were describing popular airlines which cater to THE PUBLIC and apply the situation to a group of 200 Jewish people who want to charter a PRIVATE PLANE, maybe they even request a Jewish pilot. Now that I shift the business situation from public clients to private clients the example will fit the situation better.

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If it's true that the female-only ambulance service doesn't receive public funding, yes, they can restrict service in a number of ways. As for common carriers and chartered buses, for example, I agree it is lawful to do that kind of thing, as with giving the hypothetical sales convention attendees I mentioned a preferred rate, or for that matter, booking the entire hotel for a week if the conventioners will pay for it. But re the chartered plane idea you mentioned, they can't say for example that only Jewish ppl may ride the chartered plane, but can say only members of a group named, for example, "The Brothers and Sisters of Moses Service Club" can take that particular plane on the day(s) it's chartered by said club. Whether or not the Club restricts membership to ppl only of the Jewish faith is their business, though in my experience such clubs permit non-Jewish spouses/children to be members. What isn't lawful is to be a common carrier/public accommodation provider and have a service restriction policy in fact or in writing that discriminates based on sex, race, etc. (I'm speaking here more specif'ly of NY state, as this is where the female-only amb. srvc. now exists).

If you're certain the all-woman amb. srvc. doesn't take public funding, then I have no objection to it. I assumed it would receive public funds, as many volunteer or gov't-contracted amb. srvcs. in NY do.

But I'll go a step further re that situation. I am even fine with a 911 center routing dispatch calls to this new woman-only amb. srvc. should a caller ask for it. If it can't send out a crew if they're all out on calls already, the caller should be told they'll get any avail. closest ambulance. Better to be helped than not, regardless of things like the needful person's sex.

Re EMS in NY, registered EMTs employed as such have a duty to assist to the level of their training only when in uniform or on duty or both. Also true for police officers. So for example if an EMT just arrives but out of uniform to work and the alarm goes off, they have to go out on the call if assigned. Likewise if off duty but in uniform and out someplace (e.g., grocery store right after work) and someone there suddenly needs medical assistance, NY law requires that they assist. But when off-duty and out of uniform, they can assist but have no duty to.

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I dont think 9-1-1 would be involved in dispatching these private ambulances to this Jewish community. Private ambulance companies have their own phone numbers and their own dispatchers. If the Jewish private ambulance service cannot get to her in a timely manner, then the patient would have several choices including calling 9-1-1 and using a public ambulance.

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