Protecting human rights in childbirth
For the second time this year, the Court of Protection has ruled it lawful to transfer a pregnant woman to hospital to give birth, apparently against her wishes. The Court of Protection exists to make decisions on financial, welfare and health matters for people who ‘lack capacity’ to make the decision for themselves under the … Read more
Last week, a recent Court of Protection case involving a woman with agoraphobia was reported in the media. The woman, known as GH, had been in labour at home for nearly 72 hours and the ruling describes her labour as having become “obstructed”. The case was heard as an emergency out of hours hearing. The … Read more
Birthrights and Birth Companions have published a joint report – Holding it all together: Understanding how far the human rights of women facing disadvantage are respected during pregnancy, birth and postnatal care. The report marks a key milestone in a two-year joint research project funded by Trust for London, to help establish greater understanding of … Read more
The judgment and a transcript of the hearing in the court-ordered cesarean case, known by the woman’s anonymised initials ‘AA’, has been published, so we now know how the court reached its decision. There has been some excellent legal commentary on the case. Here’s a round-up of the best blogs, followed by my thoughts on … Read more
Pregnant women with severe learning difficulties “may very well retain capacity to make deeply personal decisions about their own medical care”. A great decision from Mr Justice Hedley sitting in the Court of Protection. The woman, who is unnamed for legal reasons, has very severe learning difficulties and is said to be in the bottom … Read more