Court Ordered Interventions
The World Health Organization considers acceptable levels for cesarean rates as not less than 5% and not more than 15% of all deliveries. Yet approximately 28% of all US births are by cesarean delivery, accounting for approximately one million cesareans a year. While the overwhelming majority of these are not the result of court orders, NAPW and its staff have been involved in a number of cases where anti-abortion arguments have been used to justify c-sections that were forced upon pregnant women. This section of the web site provides information about both court-ordered interventions as well the ongoing debate about the extent to which women are able to make real, informed medical choices regarding all aspects of their reproductive health, including the cirucmstances of birth and delivery.
Mothers aren't behind a vogue for caesareans
In an excellent commentary in April 2006, Gene Declercq and Judy Norsigian challenge the myth that mothers are fueling the trend toward elective Caesareans. Read Mothers aren't behind a vogue for caesareans at:
Hastings Center Report Publishes Article by Dr. Howard Minkoff and NAPW Executive Director
The prestigious Hastings Center Report, a journal "promoting thoughtful, balanced reflection on the ethical and social issues of medicine and medical science" published an article by Dr. Howard Minkoff and Lynn Paltrow, NAPW Executive Director. The article, "The Rights of 'Unborn Children' and the Value of Pregnant Women" discusses fetal rights legislation and how mothers are "beatified in words and vilified in deeds."
Coercive Medicine
Lynn M. Paltrow is the executive director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women .
An arrest in Utah in 2004 of a 28-year-old woman who allegedly committed murder by refusing to undergo a C-section represents a shocking abuse of state authority and a dangerous disregard for medical ethics.
DO PREGNANT WOMEN HAVE RIGHTS?
By: Lynn M. Paltrow, AlterNet.org, April 22, 2004
Imagine a law declaring that upon becoming pregnant a woman loses her right to bodily integrity, life and liberty. Such a law would undoubtedly result in strong opposition across party lines. But in fact such laws are being passed -- though rather than presented as an attack on women's fundamental rights, they are advanced as fetal rights measures such as the Unborn Victims of Violence Act recently signed into law by President Bush. Increasingly, fetal rights are being used to undermine the legal status of pregnant women.
The Rights of Pregnant Patients: Carder Case Brings Bold Policy Initiatives
Links
- Childbirth Connection
Childbirth Connection, formerly Maternity Center Association, is a not-for-profit organization that has worked to improve maternity care for mothers, babies and families since 1918. They promote safe, effective, and satisfying evidence-based maternity care. Evidence-based maternity care means using the best research about the safety and effectiveness of specific tests, treatments, and interventions to help you make informed decisions. Their website includes The Rights of Childbearing Women ,a statement outlining a set of basic rights that Childbirth Connection has identified and promotes for all childbearing women. It also includes the instructive Listening to Mothers Survey. This survey systematically polled women at the national level about their maternity experiences. The survey focuses the discussion of maternity care in the U.S. on those who care about it most: mothers themselves.