[richlevy]

Originally posted by dar512
For those of you who think the mother's right to her own body outweighs all other considerations - what do you make of this hypothetical scenario:

A woman suicide bomber has swallowed the bomb. The only way to disarm it is to open her up. Should the woman be allowed to say that she doesn't want surgery in this case?

If you think this is different, please state how.

The woman has committed a criminal action and is threatening the public with a lethal weapon.

Now try this one. Instead of cosmetic reasons, the woman is a Christian Scientist morally opposed to C-sections. What now? The court has to tread carefully forcing treatment of children of parents of religious sects against their will.

If I were the woman's lawyer, I would make the following points.

a) The doctors opinions were just that - opinions. Doctors do not always agree and there is never any way to measure the chances in that situation.

b) Health organizations have released warnings about a rise in uncessary C-sections.

c) Doctors routinely recommend C-sections for women who have had them in the past, irregardless of the individual situation. The woman may have had no idea if there was a true emergency or the doctor was practicing 'defensive medicine'.

d) The cosmetic objection the woman is alleged to have made may have been a misunderstanding due to the woman's not being able to articulate her objection. If she had had more than one C-section before, she might simply have developed a phobia towards them. Doctors or nurses may have interpreted her objection as cosmetic when she could not say why she did not want the procedure. "I don't want you to cut into me again" might be interpreted as a cosmetic objection.

e) The equal protection clause gives the woman as much right to refuse an invasive procedure as anyone else, including those making religious objections. If the doctors felt strongly enough, they could have requested a court order as they would in the case of a parent refusing a life-saving operation for a child. The fact that they did not do so indicates that they were unsure of the risks involved.

Article on C-sections