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Feminism Doesn't Stop at Choice....
- Oct 11, 2009 at 7:31 PM
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- Comments (13) Total Views (383) Everyone can see this journal post.
Feminism Doesn't End at Choice....
Meaning, in so many words, our pro choice goals as feminists, should
not stop once a woman has made the choice to continue her pregnancy to
term.
We
are seeing a current epidemic of women who are losing their own
reproductive freedom's during pregnancy and at the time of birth. There
is a large epidemic of court ordered cesarean sections, which can and
has already been compared to rape.
We have seen this currently in the case of Joy Szabo
who was told if she showed up at her local hospital to give birth
(VBAC) she would be court ordered to have a cesarean section against
her will. Which in turn completely violates the laws regarding informed consent.
Then we move on to the case of Amber Marlowe
who was told after a routine late term ultrasound her baby was 13+
pounds and she needed a cesarean, after giving birth vaginally to her
previous 6 children with no issue. Hospital staff went to the court,
and they were granted a court order to perform a "medically necessary"
cesarean and petitioned to become the "guardian" of the unborn child.
Talk about out of a movie huh? She went to a different hospital and
delivered, vaginally, a healthy 11 pound baby with no complications.
Now had the first hospital got their hands on this woman, she would have been subject to serious unnecessary major surgery.
Hear Laura Pemberton speak about her experience....
Laura Pemberton from NAPW on Vimeo.
Then the case of Laura Pemberton in Florida.
Refused a c-section and signed herself out of the hospital AMA, and
went home to continue to labor on her own. While in labor, she was met
with a knock on her door, and handcuffed, and returned to the hospital
for a court ordered c-section after the hospital told a judge that the
risk to the baby from uterine rupture was significant. I am sorry, but
a less than 1% chance, is not significant when the risk of the child
actually DYING is three times greater with an elective c-section.
The cases go on and on. But why is there such a problem?
Well,
for one we are not living in the Orwell Novel 1984. Our government
should not be making medical decision for us, nor should Doctors solely
be making these choices. We are constantly hearing the Pro Choice crowd
picketing and arguing about the rights of the pregnant women when it
comes to abortion, but what about those SAME pro choice women that make
a decision to keep their baby, or plan to get pregnant. Of Course they
should still get the same kind of treatment regarding the medical
decisions they make during their pregnancy and birth.
It is a truly scary day in America when women lose their rights simply because they are pregnant.
Comments:
Sati, sadly, the majority of Doctors may "support" VBAC, but they put drastic and unrealistic restrictions on labor for mom's who are having a VBAC. They may "attend" VBAC's but they by far do not support them.
Also, the amount of VBAC ban's taking place in hospitals nationally is growing rapidly. Meaning even if the Doctors who do have privileges there support VBAC or would attend a VBAC, the hospital is saying they can't, which is the case in the above story of Joy Szabo.
Rape and a C-section are DIFFERENT altogether.
I have mixed reactions about the lady who was court ordered to have a c-section. However, you go to a doctor for medical advice and assistance, and if she refuses, I guess he did what he (or she) thought was best to save their lives.
I wouldn't want a c-section either but I'm not going to risk my children's lives over it. Why be so stubborn?
Also, our local hospital will NOT do a VBAC -- they don't want the liability.
While I agree that the scenarios you mentioned seem pretty extreme, I do take offense to comparing a c-section with rape. I had a c-section, after a very long labor, and it was MY decision to have one... Could I have labored for another 20-something hours? I'm sure I could have. But since I had been in hard labor for a long time, the baby was showing signs of distress and was breech, *I* decided (after going over all the options with my doctor, who by the way did NOT push for a c-section at all) to go with a c-section. To imply that I basically was raped is just a little much, in my opinion... And frankly, quite insulting to TRUE rape victims.
I have to say that I agree that RAPE is not a forced C section. totally different.
Choosing to have a c-section after a long labor is not what she is talking about. I was in induced labor for 3 days and then had a c-section. What the op is talking about is not having that choice. Not being allowed to make that choice for yourself. I am not pro-choice but do not beleive that man has the right to interfere in what God has started. I cannot say if it is like rape or not because I have not been raped (thank god). But being forced to let someone put a needle in my spine and then cut me open becasue they think they are right would be a violation of my personal self and my trust.
I just noticed I misread that, didn't see the court ordered part of it. Still, I don't believe you could EVER compare that with rape. It's just apples and oranges.
However, I honestly have never heard of any type of court ordered c-sections, so I can't give an educated opinion of that. I'd have to see each case to figure out whether I believed it was "necessary" or not. I'm sure those kind of cases are not common by any means, and I do believe in some cases (again, not saying all) they would be justified. If somebody refuses a c-section, even if it's clear the baby's (or even the mother's) life is in danger, I can see where in some cases a court ordered c-section would be justified...
Really scary stuff. I had my VBA2C with no problem, but I showed up at the hospital ready to push. The worst I got was comments from nurses (my OB was supportive). I probably would have had to fend off all sorts of unnecessary interventions if I had showed up earlier. I heard of all this though, during my pregnancy, and it definitely scared me.
I agree that it can be compared to rape. For pete's sake, they're knocking you out to do something to your body that you have expressly said no to. How could it be anything else. Many women who have experienced both say that the trauma is similar. And I think they are the only ones who can give us a definitive answer on that one.
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it is very frightening. but i would say in some cases these women should have gone to greater lengths to find a Dr who backed them up in what they were wanting to do. there are tons of OB/Gyns out there and clinics that support VBAC, travel further to go to a hospital that IS willing, while i appreciate how concerning this occuring is, 2 of the cases you sited were in 95 and 96.
- sati769leigh
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