Know Your Rights
Perhaps Some OBs Should Read the Nuremberg Code
The first principle of the Nuremberg Code is the right to informed consent. Logically if you cannot decline a procedure it is hardly informed consent you are making, is it? Informed consent is not true informed consent if you are not informed of your options and risks.
At the heart of the Nuremberg Code is voluntary consent; "the voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential."
The medical monopoly has brought us to the place where we are no longer free to dissent once we are in the hands of a physician. The physician may get a court order from a judge and force his way on us.
Know Your Rights!
The federal Emergency Treatment and Advanced Labor Act (EMTALA) requires hospitals to admit women in active labor and to abide by their treatment wishes until the baby and placenta are delivered. The act was originally passed to prevent hospitals from "dumping" patients who can't pay, but it has since been applied in all sorts of other ways and includes specific provisions that apply to all laboring women.
EMTALA Applied to VBAC
Attorneys consulted on the VBAC ban issue have said that hospitals are much more afraid of being found in violation of EMTALA than they are of malpractice suits because the act is routinely enforced and each violation subjects them to fines between $50,000 and $100,000.
Know What to Say
Memorizing phrases such as "It's a violation of my rights under EMTALA to force me to undergo a cesarean, " or "I'm invoking my right under EMTALA to refuse "A, B, C" is of the utmost importance. Whether a hospital bans VBACs is unimportant; according to EMTALA, you have the right to be admitted to any hospital once you are in active labor and, once admitted, you have the right to refuse any treatment: Cesarean is the treatment. VBAC is the natural culmination of the normal process.
EMTALA begins to apply as soon as you are anywhere within 250 feet of a hospital; you don't have to be inside. In the parking lot, if they so much as touch you without your express consent, they are in violation of EMTALA. For more info visit www.birthpolicy.org.
From Anonymous
The problem still remains that once you are in this antagonistic relationship with the hospital staff, it will be difficult for you to turn off the adrenaline, relax and have your baby. Your best line of defense is to find a professional homebirth midwife to assist you at home.
To learn more about this important subject, go to www.emtala.com.
Adapted from From Midwifery Today, Winter 2005
For More Info Contact:
Chris Duffy, BS, LM, CNHP, ND
281-732-7816
Please include the word "Midwife" in the Subject.