Persons not attending the entire conference may attend this session only and the film screening of
immediately preceeding this talk. Register for film screening on Eventbrite ($20):
. Student rates are also available ($10). For student tickets:
.
This session + film is available via webinar. Fee: $25
This session will also be a live international town-hall meeting livestreamed over the internet. To register, go to: https://2015-mfci-symposium-virtual-meeting.eventbrite.com
SESSION DESCRIPTION:
This session will discuss Reproductive Rights and Justice in Maternity Care by two human/women's rights advocates, Hermine Hayes-Klein, JD, a Human Rights Lawyer, and Dr. Laila Al-Marayati, MD, FACOG, an Islamic Women's Rights Activist and Obstetrican-Gynecologist. Their discussion will follow a screening of the film "Freedom for Birth: The Mother's Revolution" a 28-minute film that highlights violations in human rights in maternity care around the world.
Since the 1990s, the global community has been recognizing that preventable maternal mortality is a human rights issue, and that nations have an obligation to ensure non-discriminatory access to reproductive health services for all women and their babies. However, significant mortality disparities continue to exist, both between nations, and within nations, as marginalized women remain significantly more likely to die, or see their babies die, during childbirth. This session will discuss the human rights at stake in maternity care, and the efforts underway around the world to ensure that no woman dies while bringing forth new life. The session will also examine the human rights at stake in childbirth beyond the right to survival, and the status of those rights in maternity care in both developed and developing nations. There is more than one path to a live mother and live baby, and the care given in childbirth can either respect or violate the human rights to dignity, privacy, and autonomy of birthing women, with lasting impact. This session will also discuss emerging international recognition of the right to non-violent, respectful maternity care, and current initiatives underway around the world to ensure quality of care. Additionally, they will discuss practical applications for the maternity care team -- physician, midwife, nurse, doula, lactation consultant, childbirth educator--to protect the birthing woman's rights and dignity, and foster cooperation among all members of the woman's support team. For more information on Human Rights in Childbirth, please go to: http://humanrightsinchildbirth.com/
In this session, the speakers will:
- Describe the Human Rights Framework as it pertains to maternity care, including:
- Right to Informed Consent
- Right to Refuse Medical Treatment
- Right to Health
- Right to Equal Treatment
- Right to Privacy
- Right to Life
- Discuss basic political, economic, and reproductive rights, like the right to vote, to go to school, and to choose whether to conceive and bear children.
- Discuss emerging international recognition that human rights are at stake in maternity care for understanding the global problem of maternal mortality, morbidity, and perinatal mortality, and the obligations of governments to provide maternity care that is accessible and affordable to all citizens.
- Discuss the dynamics that occur between birthing women and their healthcare providers, and problems with medical intervention and abuse including the skyrocketing cesarean section rate.
- Discuss ACOG’s Essential Components of Informed Consent and Refusal.
- Discuss the ethical and legal precedence of Informed Consent and Refusal in maternity care.
- Discuss the benefits of Informed Consent and Refusal for women and their caregivers.
- Discuss barriers to Informed Consent and Refusal in maternity care by institutions and medical providers.
- Articulate ethical dilemmas that occur with informed refusal in maternity care when considering both maternal and child rights.
- Discuss whether the current model of informed consent and refusal fully respect the rights and needs of pregnant women and their infants.
