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Subject:	Legality of banning VBAC
Body:	<div class="NTForums_Quote">Posted By n/a on 07/09/2008 5:30 PM<br><DIV class=NTForums_Quote>Posted By Angela Simpson on 07/09/2008 11:09 AM<BR>I've recently received a question off my website regarding VBAC. The mom was looking for a provider that will allow it and she's turned up empty-handed. <BR><BR>This has made me wonder--In the spirit of freedom of choice and fully informed consent, is it actually legal to require women to undergo surgery? My thought is that hospital-wide VBAC's are probably legal because you can simply go somewhere else to birth your baby. However, if you live in an area where the next-closest hospitals are far away (most of them banning it too), is there any legislation or otherwise that protects a woman's right to NOT undergo surgery? If every single hospital and doctor ban it within a reasonably safe distance to travel, can a women outright refuse cesarean and still be required to receive adequate treatment? <BR><BR>I really hate telling these women that they have to just suck it up and get operated on. It goes against absolutely everything I believe in and stand for.</DIV> <P><BR><BR>"EMTALA" is the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act which requires hospitals to admit women in active labor and then can not force them to accept any particular procedures.  Under this act, technically, a hospital could not force a cesarean on a woman.</P> <P>Of course a woman would have to go through her whole prenatal care not knowing how supportive her OB will be once she starts putting off the planned cesarean at the end, and ultimately goes into labor.  And even then, there aren't plenty of reports of women women being coerced into surgery on false grounds, or screaming as they were wheeled to the OR that they did NOT consent to surgery and their support people being physically restrained by hospital security.  Or worse yet, cases of hospitals going to court to get a judge to order the cesarean without even telling the woman and allowing her to present a counter argument.  Happened in my state 4 years ago with a woman with a history of about 6 prior vaginal births, but the Dr.s thought the baby she was in labor with was "too big." Ugghhh.   Fortunately she had already left the hospital, and gave birth vaginally at another hospital.  There are some lawyers in the Northwest looking for women specifically who would like to challenge the legality of VBAC bans--if you are in the Northwest, I could try to look up their contact information if you'd like.</P></div><br><br>
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