Women’s Birthing Bodies and the Law: Unauthorised Intimate Examinations, Power and Vulnerability

Description

This is the first book to unpack the legal and ethical issues surrounding unauthorised intimate examinations during labour. The book uses feminist, socio-legal and philosophical tools to explore the issues of power, vulnerability and autonomy. The collection challenges the perception that the law adequately addresses different manifestations of unauthorised medical touch through the lens of women’s experiences of unauthorised vaginal examinations during labour. The book unearths several broader themes that are of huge significance to lawyers and healthcare professionals such as the legal status of women and their bodies. The book raises questions about women’s experiences during childbirth in hospital settings. It explores the status of women’s bodies during labour and childbirth where too easily they become objectified, and it raises important issues around consent. The book highlights links to the law on sexual offences and women’s loss of power under the medical gaze. The book includes contributions from leading feminist philosophers, medical professionals, and academics in medicine and law, and offers pioneering analysis relevant to lawyers and healthcare professionals with an interest in medical law and ethics; feminist theory; criminal law; tort law; and human rights law. Acknowledgements Contents List of Contributors Table of Cases 1. Introduction I. Cracks in the System: Violence and Abuse during Maternity Care II. Cracks in the Self: Vulnerability and Childbirth III. Cracks in Regulation: Law, Power and Authority 2. Non-Consented Vaginal Examinations: The Birthrights and AIMS Perspective I. Introduction II. Context: Vaginal Examinations within Standard Maternity Care III. Consent and Coercion IV. Complaints and Redress V. Seeking Solutions 3. Silence, Acquiescence or Consent: Interpreting Women's Responses to Intimate Examinations I. Introduction II. Ethical and Legal Context III. Childhood Sexual Abuse: Prevalence and Impact IV. Conflicting Perspectives V. Lack of Control VI. Acquiescence is not Choosing VII. Care Causing Harm VIII. Compassionate Care IX. Conclusion 4. Female Genital Examination and Autonomy in Medicine I. Introduction II. Medicine's Discovery of the Cervix III. The Utilitarian Exception IV. Disapproval and Degradation V. Taking Back Control VI. The Rise of 'Genital Liberation' VII. Conclusion 5. When a Uterus Enters the Room, Reason Goes out the Window I. Introduction II. Why is it Important to Talk about Vaginal Examinations without Consent During Labour? III. A Hypothesis: 'It is the Uterine Influence, Stupid!' IV. A Counterhypothesis: 'It is the Content, Stupid!' V. A Second Counterhypothesis: 'It's the Pain, Stupid!' VI. What Can We Do to Stop Vaginal Examinations without Consent During Labour? VII. Conclusion 6. Human Rights and Gender Stereotypes in Childbirth I. Introduction II. Informed Consent and Autonomy III. Pregnancy and Childbirth IV. Denying Choices During Childbirth V. Forced Sterilisation VI. Conclusion 7. How Should the Performance of Periparturient Vaginal Examinations be Regulated? I. Introduction II. Necessity III. Relevant Guidelines 8. Including the Victim's Perspective: Can Vaginal Examinations Ever be Sexual Assaults? I. Introduction II. Common Assault III. Sexual Assault IV. What Kind of Act is Vaginal Examination? 9. When 'Battery' is not Enough: Exposing the Gaps in Unauthorised Vaginal Examinations During Labour as a Crime of Battery I. Introduction II. Unauthorised Vaginal Examinations as the Crime of Battery III. Reflections on Why Battery is not Enough IV. Concluding Reflections on Moving Forward 10. Implied Consent and Vaginal Examination in Pregnancy I. Introduction II. When is Consent Needed? III. What does Consent do? IV. The Concept of Implied Consent V. Implicit Consent cannot do the Work of Morally Transformative Consent VI. Conclusion 11. Troubling Consent: Pain and Pressure in Labour and Childbirth I. Introduction II. Consent III. Decision-Making in Labour and Childbirth IV. Conclusion: Challenges and Solutions 12. Redressing Unauthorised Vaginal Examinations through Litigati I. Introduction II. Actions in Tort III. Fundamental Rights Litigation IV. Conclusion Afterword: Unauthorised Intimate Examinations as/and Sexual Violence: Some Epistemic and Phenomenological Considerations Index