Women's Birthing Bodies and the Law
Subtitle: Unauthorised Intimate Examinations, Power and Vulnerability
Contributors: Herring, Jonathan
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published: 2020
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource] :
Number of pages: 235
ISBN-13: 9781509937585
Subjects: Informed consent (Medical law); Pregnant women; Legal status, laws; Medical examinations; Obstetrics; Law and legislation; Physician and patient; Childbirth; Medical & healthcare law
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"--
Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

11. Troubling Consent: Pain and Pressure in Labour and Childbirth.
Table of contents: title: Intro; title: Acknowledgements; title: Contents; title: List of Contributors; title: Table of Cases; title: 1. Introduction; title: I. Cracks in the System: Violence and Abuse during Maternity Care; title: II. Cracks in the Self: Vulnerability and Childbirth; title: III. Cracks in Regulation: Law, Power and Authority; title: 2. Non-Consented Vaginal Examinations: The Birthrights and AIMS Perspective; title: I. Introduction; title: II. Context: Vaginal Examinations within Standard Maternity Care; title: III. Consent and Coercion; title: IV. Complaints and Redress; title: V. Seeking Solutions; title: 3. Silence, Acquiescence or Consent: Interpreting Women's Responses to Intimate Examinations; title: I. Introduction; title: II. Ethical and Legal Context; title: III. Childhood Sexual Abuse: Prevalence and Impact; title: IV. Conflicting Perspectives; title: V. Lack of Control; title: VI. Acquiescence is not Choosing; title: VII. Care Causing Harm; title: VIII. Compassionate Care; title: IX. Conclusion; title: 4. Female Genital Examination and Autonomy in Medicine; title: I. Introduction; title: II. Medicine's Discovery of the Cervix; title: III. The Utilitarian Exception; title: IV. Disapproval and Degradation; title: V. Taking Back Control; title: VI. The Rise of 'Genital Liberation'; title: VII. Conclusion; title: 5. When a Uterus Enters the Room, Reason Goes out the Window; title: I. Introduction; title: II. Why is it Important to Talk about Vaginal Examinations without Consent During Labour?; title: III. A Hypothesis: 'It is the Uterine Influence, Stupid!'; title: IV. A Counterhypothesis: 'It is the Content, Stupid!'; title: V. A Second Counterhypothesis: 'It's the Pain, Stupid!'; title: VI. What Can We Do to Stop Vaginal Examinations without Consent During Labour?; title: VII. Conclusion; title: 6. Human Rights and Gender Stereotypes in Childbirth; title: I. Introduction; title: II. Informed Consent and Autonomy; title: III. Pregnancy and Childbirth; title: IV. Denying Choices During Childbirth; title: V. Forced Sterilisation; title: VI. Conclusion; title: 7. How Should the Performance of Periparturient Vaginal Examinations be Regulated?; title: I. Introduction; title: II. Necessity; title: III. Relevant Guidelines; title: 8. Including the Victim's Perspective: Can Vaginal Examinations Ever be Sexual Assaults?; title: I. Introduction; title: II. Common Assault; title: III. Sexual Assault; title: IV. What Kind of Act is Vaginal Examination?; title: 9. When 'Battery' is not Enough: Exposing the Gaps in Unauthorised Vaginal Examinations During Labour as a Crime of Battery; title: I. Introduction; title: II. Unauthorised Vaginal Examinations as the Crime of Battery; title: III. Reflections on Why Battery is not Enough; title: IV. Concluding Reflections on Moving Forward; title: 10. Implied Consent and Vaginal Examination in Pregnancy; title: I. Introduction; title: II. When is Consent Needed?; title: III. What does Consent do?; title: IV. The Concept of Implied Consent; title: V. Implicit Consent cannot do the Work of Morally Transformative Consent; title: VI. Conclusion