There has been a substantial increase in litigation for failure of sterilization operations. Recent court cases indicate that doctors must inform their patients about the risk of failure of such operations. The word sterilization suggests permanence and it is suggested that female sterilization should be renamed tubal occlusion.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Annual Report. (1980) The Medical Defence Union.
2.
Annual Report. (1983) The Medical Defence Union.
3.
LofferF. D.PentD. (1980) Pregnancy after laparoscopic sterilization. Obstetrics and Gynaecology55, 643–8.
4.
DewhurstJ. ed (1981) Integrated Obstetrics and Gynaecology for Postgraduates. Blackwell Scientific Publications. Oxford.
5.
VesseyM. P.McPhersonK.JohnsonB. (1977) Mortality among women participating in the Oxford Family Planning Association contraceptive study. Lancet11, 731.
6.
Gynaecological Laparoscopy. (1978) eds. ChamberlainG.BrownJ. E. Report of Working Party of the Confidential Enquiry. Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. London.
7.
Bravery v. Bravery [1954] 3 All ER 59.
8.
The legal correspondent. (1960) Legality of Sterilization: A New Outlook. Br. Med. J.2, 1516.
Thake and Another v. Maurice [1984] The Times, 10 April.
12.
Udale v. Bloomsbury Area Health Authority [1983] The Times, 8 February.
13.
McKay v. Essex Area Health Authority [1982] 2 All ER 271.
14.
Emeh v. Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham Area Health Authority and Others [1983] The Times 3 January.
15.
Esso Petroleum Company Ltd v Mardon [1976] QB 801.
16.
Hills v. Potter and Another [1983] The Times, 23 May.
17.
Sidaway v. Board of Governors of Bethlem Royal Hospital [1984] The Times, 24 February.
18.
Bolam. v. Friern Hospital Management Committee [1957] 1WLR 582.
19.
Maynard v. West Midlands Area Health Authority [1983] The Times, 9 May.
20.
ChamberlainG. (1977) High Risk Clinical Problems of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The Influence of Litigation on Medical Practice. Academic Press, pp. 111–12.
21.
Editorial. (1983) Consent for Sterilization. World Medicine, 22 January.
22.
PaxmanJ.M. (1980) Law and Planned Parenthood. International Planned Parenthood Federation. London, p. 36.
23.
Female Sterilization. British Pregnancy Advisory Service. Austy Press, West Midlands.
24.
Male and Female Sterilization. Family Planning Information Service. London.
25.
Report on Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths in England and Wales. 1976–78. Published 1982. HMSO, London.
26.
Smith v. Auckland Hospital Board [1965] NZ 191.
27.
Hedley Byrne and Co. Ltd v. Heller and Partners Ltd [1964] AC 465.
28.
Murray v. McMurchy [1949] 2 DLR 442.
29.
Annual Report. [1979] The Medical Defence Union.
30.
SavageD. (1980) The Claim for Wrongful Conception. J. Reproductive Med.24, 51–61.
31.
BrownH. P.SchanzerS. N. (1982) Female Sterilization. John Wright. Massachusetts.
