<p>To start off, if it is proven that they did how this without her consent then they are wrong. I already have issues with when most obs want to talk about birth control options with already pregnant women, especially when it includes tubal ligation. To ask a woman that is 7,8 months or about to pop pregnant if she wants a tubal is insane, but that is an all to common practice in this country. Not to mention the havoc this can put on a woman’s body and hormone balance.</p>
<p>Whether or not she has 9 kids or not is irrelevant if it is proven that she did not give informed consent to have this procedure done.</p>
<p>One other thing to consider: There may have been medical reasons for the sterilization, and it may have been unavoidable. After all, having 9 kids (no matter what your race, financial status or any other factor) is tough on the body, using IUDs can cause problems, etc. The side effect of a medically necessary procedure, consented to under the blanket surgical consent, may have been that she is now infertile, but that’s not the same thing as saying, “They sterilized me.”</p>
<p>Sterilizing her against her will was wrong. But I, too, am sick of the people who say, “I take care of my kids” when they don’t have custody of them, never mind the financial piece of it. Like the people who sue the foster care system if something happens to a kid removed from their care - “They should have taken better care of my baby!” Maybe, but you should have too - why was the kid removed? Please, don’t cry your crocodile tears over how much you loved your child.</p>
<p>I think just the fact that she does not have custody of all her children is enough to say that the rights of her current and future children take precedence over her own.
With" rights come responsibilities" and she doesn’t meet her responsibilities, so it doesn’t follow that she still shoul retain her rights.</p>
<p>I also would be concerned about her suing because she seems to be claiming her 12 yr old daughter she did not want to be born?</p>
<p>I am also surprised that she is claiming that she even used contraception at all. Nine kids and she is only 35? She start when she was 16?</p>
<p>littlegreenmom, I am baffled by the story, too. I am not a doctor or nurse, but the idea of inserting an IUD immediately after a delivery sounds wrong to me. I do know that tubal ligation is frequently performed at the time of delivery, because the anesthesia is already in effect, and it is simple to do it then. I am wondering whether the doctor discussed with her the option to have tubal ligation at the time of delivery, and she agreed, but misunderstood what had been offered. How strange that she showed up with an IUD! Where did she get it? I don’t think they are stocked on the shelves at CVS! Wouldn’t the doctor’s office or hospital normally provide them?</p>
<p>This procedure took place at a medical center. If she was actually sterilized without consent, it must have been some sort of administrative error. The doctors did not do it deliberately.</p>
<p>NYMOM, I think u are confusing 2 separate pregnancies, yrs apart.
As I understand it,
One pregnancy she tried to prevent, by buying a product at CVS. The pregnancy did occur, and she sued CVS in 2001.
Now, she had had another pregnancy and is suing the most recent doctors for sterilizing her without her permission.
So one lawsuit was because she got pregnant; one lawsuit is because she can’t get pregnant.</p>
<p>One aspect of this discussion is the legality of her legal claim. Another aspect is the practicality of having more kids than one can afford.
The right of a woman vs. the rights of the offspring vs. the rights of a society.</p>
<p>younghoss, I’m not confusing the two pregnancies, although my post is probably confusing!</p>
<p>Pregnancy A, unwanted according to the mother, resulted from use of expired spermicide bought at CVS. Somehow she extracted a financial settlement from CVS.</p>
<p>Pregnancy B, she says that she arrived at the hospital for delivery toting an IUD in a box, which she expected to be inserted immediately after the procedure. She now claims that a tubal ligation was done instead, without her consent. My CVS comment there was a joke. I don’t think that IUDs are over-the-counter items.</p>
<p>There are cases when you get a script for the birth control and then take the birth control to the doctor for administering. I am surprised no one has heard of such a thing happening. Back in 2000 when I thought about going back on depo (very short lived thought), the doctor wrote me a script for the med that I was to get at the pharmacy and bring back to get the shot. The reason was because the doctor was a branch of a catholic hospital and could not keep this on site (reason was stated by the doctor).</p>
<p>I ve never heard of the patient supplying the iud in the box while having surgery. There is a certain liablity to that also. Expiration date, contamination, Who was the vendor, reliability, etc
Who knows, she might have sued later because they inserted it faulty or got an infection, or even worse got pregnant because it had expired its shelf life.</p>
<p>I hope that one of our OB/Gyns checks in here. I really want to know whether IUDs are inserted at the end of a delivery! I find it hard to believe that this is done.</p>
<p>One of my relatives in my extended family had an IUD, but got pregnant anyway in the late 80’s. She explored all the options with her doc, had numerous ultrasounds and was fortunate enough to not miscarry or have any issues with the baby. The placenta attached itself to the IUD. She had a c-section a little early, because they didn’t want to risk delivering and having complications.</p>
<p>I know several women that decided to get sterilized after a planned c-section. I don’t think that informed consent while a woman is pregnant is a problem. That is why there is a waiting period for women to decide before the delivery.</p>
<h1>31 The issue I have when a woman is pregnant and the talks about permanent sterilization is that her hormones are all over the place. I have met many woman that had their tubes tied as soon as she gave birth (and up to 24 hours) that deeply regret it within one year of giving birth. And once its done now-a-days there is no going back and getting it undone.</h1>
<p>Another issue is that there are some doctors that push permanent sterilization after a woman has given birth to 2 or 3 children with no other options discussed by the doctor. This was the experience I had, the doctor never talked to me about other options, such as IUDs, only permanent sterilization. I have for 6 years deeply regretted ending my fertility. I cry every month hoping I will be one of the failure statistics so I can have another child. I hate the side effects that I was never made aware of before this was done.</p>
<p>Tubal ligations are reversible. It has its own complications and risks, but it is an option if one is willing to take it.
I don’t understand how one gets in a position of not having any other options. I would never consider anything without doing my own research first. I dont understand a doctor pushing a woman to make a decision of permanent sterilization unless it was for health reasons.</p>
<p>Yes you can pay 3 to 5,000 dollars to have it reversed but the odds are not great that you will conceive after the procedure is done. There was no health risks when it was pushed on me, but I was young, had to go to appoints alone because my husband worked and had no one else to go with me. I do believe the doctor took advantage of me being naive and pushed the procedure.</p>
<p>I still remember the day my world changed. I was on the table less then 24 hours after delivery, was supposed to just be numbed and awake during the procedure. I was talking and very nervous and really thinking this was not something I wanted to do, I remember saying I don’t think I want to do this. Next thing I know I was out and awoke when the procedure was done and I was back in my room.</p>
<p>And like I said less than a year later it really hit me I would never have another child. I make jokes about it today to try and ease that pain I feel. I have hormonal issues after the procedure, my cycle has never been the same, I now get severe pain around ovulation time on one side (never happened before the procedure), I have no libido. If I could go back in time I would not have this done to myself.</p>
<p>Did you sign a consent form for this procedure? I have never seen a consent form for any procedure which did not have the risks and potential adverse effects written on the consent sheet. If you did not sign a consent form or if said form did not have the risks of the procedure on it, you would certainly have a case for litigation.</p>
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<p>From a web site discussing tubal ligation risks and tubal ligation reversal surgery:</p>
<p>Rejoining a woman’s fallopian tubes after a tubal ligation under optimal conditions has a success rate of 70-80%. If there are any problems, such as short remaining tubes, or damage to the tubes, the rates are much lower. The rate of success is decreased for women whose tubes have been burned, due to more extensive tubal damage. There is also a much greater risk of ectopic pregnancy with rejoined tubes. This is because there is often scarring and narrowing of the tubes where they are rejoined. The ovum may be too large to pass through the constricted portion, yet it can still be fertilized. Success has also been found to depend on the age of the woman, the technique of ligation, tubal length after rejoining, and if one or both tubes are rejoined. </p>
<p>It’s a shame that you had a procedure done that you did not understand. Your regrets are understandable. A reversal might not have worked for you, and it can be very expensive. However, the success rates for reversal are really pretty high in my opinion. It’s something I would definitely pursue if I truly regretted having a tubal ligation, wanted to have a child, was young enough, fit the profile of the typical successful patient, and could find a way to come up with the necessary funds. That’s a lot of if’s, though.</p>
<p>My OB had a policy that he would not do sterilization procedures on any woman younger than 36. At the time, I was annoyed by that because I found it rather patronistic. In retrospect, maybe it was a good policy.</p>
<p>I was very lucky to have a tubal ligation procedure which went smoothly, and I have had no ill effects from the procedure.</p>
<p>There is a syndrome that is very much controversial in the medical field that pertains to this procedure, its called post tubal ligation syndrome. I was never told all the risk involved with the procedure and I did not, nor anyone close to, have access to the internet at the time.</p>
<p>I do know for a fact that my tubes were burned not clipped.</p>