Paula Boira Nacher |
Madrid (EFE) of the abortion law despite the attempts of the Ministry of Equality, but which has been recognized by the UN and the European Union.
The lawyer specialized in reproductive rights Francisca Fernández explains to EFE that obstetric violence is understood as the appropriation by medical personnel of the decision-making power of women in relation to their pregnancy and childbirth, such as the induction of the same for the convenience of the doctor, perform caesarean sections or episiotomies “for routine” or separate them from their children.
This term also includes other practices such as physical, verbal or psychological abuse, the deprivation of women’s right to privacy, over-intervention or abandonment of patients.
“It is not that women can request a caesarean section on a whim, neither we nor any patient have the right to demand surgery that is not indicated,” explains Fernández, who nonetheless points out that health workers are obliged to inform patients of the available alternatives and to respect their decision, something they did not do in the case of Las Palmas.
Gynecologists defend medical criteria
The Spanish Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics (SEGO), on the contrary, defends that obstetricians have to act based on SEGO’s practical assistance guides “and not on the patient’s preferences”, which will only be taken into account ” to the extent possible,” according to a statement released this Friday.
“The decision of the route of delivery will be the responsibility of the obstetrician and the decision to perform a cesarean section will be made only when it is correctly indicated, not at the request of the patient,” they warn.
Obstetric violence in the abortion law
Equality tried to include the term obstetric violence to refer to bad practices committed against women during pregnancy and childbirth in the modification of the sexual and reproductive health law, but finally renounced said nomenclature due to the rejection of the socialist wing of the Government and the gynecological field.
The law, whose reform was approved last February, does include policies aimed at preventing these malpractices, such as reducing interventionism, avoiding unnecessary and inappropriate practices and “reinforcing practices related to the respected agreement and the informed consent of the patient”. .
Thus, in its article 27, the regulation underlines the need to “mandatorily require the free, prior and informed consent of women in all invasive treatments during delivery care, respecting the autonomy of women and their ability to make decisions informed”.
In addition, the text recognizes as “forms of violence against women in the field of sexual and reproductive health” forced abortions, sterilization and contraception.
Spain has been sentenced for obstetric violence
The UN Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has issued three sentences against Spain for cases of obstetric violence, although none of the victims has been compensated for physical and psychological damage by the Spanish courts.
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, warned about this, who in a recent report was “concerned” about the “gender stereotypes by health personnel during pregnancy and childbirth” that they faced these women and asked Spain to compensate them.
The European Parliament also approved in 2021 a resolution urging Member States to “combat gynecological and obstetric violence.”
Likewise, in 2014 the World Health Organization (WHO) published a document in which, despite not mentioning the term as such, it did warn of the “disrespectful, offensive or negligent treatment during childbirth” suffered by many women.
“There is a whole body of recognition and knowledge on this subject”, highlights Fernández, who regrets that its recognition by the Government “collides with the interests or ignorance of the medical community”, something that seems “inescapable”.
“Women have no power if the medical community continues to be determined not to change their practices,” laments the expert.