NPR
If you live in New York City, you will often see the Orthodox Jewish ambulance service known as Hatzolah on the street. Hatzolah has some 1,200 volunteers — all men — in New York City and is known for its quick response time.
Now, a group of Hasidic female EMTs wants to create a women's division within Hatzolah, to help deliver babies in emergencies.
Deeply religious Hasidic men and women do not touch each other, unless they are immediate family. They don't shake hands. They don't sit next to each other on buses or at weddings. But when it comes to emergency births, the babies are often are delivered by male volunteers with Hatzolah. [...]
If you live in New York City, you will often see the Orthodox Jewish ambulance service known as Hatzolah on the street. Hatzolah has some 1,200 volunteers — all men — in New York City and is known for its quick response time.
Now, a group of Hasidic female EMTs wants to create a women's division within Hatzolah, to help deliver babies in emergencies.
Deeply religious Hasidic men and women do not touch each other, unless they are immediate family. They don't shake hands. They don't sit next to each other on buses or at weddings. But when it comes to emergency births, the babies are often are delivered by male volunteers with Hatzolah. [...]
I think that first they need to establish רגלים לדבר that the woman is indeed ready to give birth. The description should be handed over to the posek who, together with experts, will ascertain whether it's appropriate to ring the male or female contingent of Hatzola. The names of male responders should of course be passed to the pregnant woman to ascertain if she knows any of them. When there is a real need, one can send the Belzer males to Satmar woman and vice versa, just to be on the safe side.
ReplyDeleteSheesh. What next? Males and Females to mate via IVF only? Brothers and sisters to eat with a mechitzah across the breakfast table?