Round-Up

Consent denied for sterilisation and abortion on grounds of mental disability in UK and Italian court cases: was’justice done?

A Sicilian court in Italy overturned a doctor’s decision to terminate the pregnancy of a 13-

year-old girl with learning disabilities in Decem- ber 1999. The girl was removed from her home in Pozzallo in southern Sicily two weeks after her pregnancy was discovered. A family doctor, appointed as the girl’s guardian by a children’s court, said the girl did not understand what was happening to her and recommended an abortion. However, the court then received a letter, alleg- edly written by the girl, begging to be allowed to keep the baby. The girl’s parents said that she has a mental age comparable to a six-year-old and could not tell the difference between a baby and a doll. They pleaded for her to be allowed to have the abortion. The father of the baby is the girl’s 14-year-old boyfriend, who also has learning disabilities. The Vatican Osservatore Roman0 branded the recommendation for a termination a Nazi-like atrocity. The children’s court handed the case on to another court to decide. Pro-choice groups accused the court of caving in to pressure from anti-abortion activists, who they said had breached the privacy laws by campaigning for the pregnancy to go to term. This case has created the biggest controversy over abortion in Italy since it was legalised over 20 years ago.*,Z

A court in the UK has ruled that the mother of a 2%year-old man with Down’s syndrome could not have him sterilised without his consent, on the grounds that the operation would not necessarily be in his best interests if he were not willing to give his consent. The woman applied for permission for the procedure as she was not well and was no longer able to look after him sufficiently herself. There have been 70 court cases concerning applications for sterilisation of mentally disabled women in the UK, since a controversial ruling in1987 in which the court agreed that a 17-year-old woman (with a mental age of five) could be sterilised without her con- sent. Based on that ruling, 50 mentally disabled

women have been sterilised. However, this was the first case in which a male sterilisation was sought. This judge said that as it was a man, the situation was not the same as it was for women.3

Carroll R, 1999. Italy divided over abortion for girl, 13. Guardian. 17 December. Carroll R, 1999. Court bans abortion for girl with mental age of six. Guardian. 18 December. Hall S. 1999. Woman loses fight to have son sterilised. Guardian. 21 December, p.5.

Changes in abortions laws being considered in Ireland, Philippines and Paraguay

1 N the autumn of 1999 the Irish government pub- lished a Green Paper, a discussion document,

on the subject of abortion and invited a round of submissions in response to it. This generated significant discussion and debate on abortion in the Irish media. The bishops are calling for a referendum which they believe will guarantee that abortion remains illegal in the country. A new pro-choice organisation, Abortion Reform, which is supported by over a dozen organisations and some individuals, has called for a new middle ground in which abortion is taken out of the legal field into the medical field. The group has suggested that either legislation be introduced to allow abortion when pregnancy poses a real and substantial risk to the life of a woman, or a ‘preferendum’ on the Constitution to allow abor- tion in certain circumstances. A ‘preferendum’ allows the electorate to choose from a number of options during a referendum. In an opinion poll, half of people polled supported the call for a referendum. The deputy prime minister has repeatedly opposed a referendum, calling instead for an all-party agreement to deal with the issue.l

In the Philippines, a draft bill which proposes partial decriminalisation of abortion has been passed at sub-committee level and was due to be debated in the full parliament some time in 2000. It is hoped that the law can be changed to allow abortion in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnorm- ality or to save the life of the woman. Increased

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funding is also being proposed for state-spon- sored contraceptive programmes, when a recent survey found that some 75 per cent of women surveyed obtained their contraception from these public programmes.2

In Paraguay, months of work have resulted in the public presentation of a draft bill on sexual and reproductive health for public discussion in Para- guay. The bill was prepared by the Coordination de Mujeres de1 Paraguay and proposes to alter those parts of the country’s Constitution which regulate the exercise of reproductive rights, and which protect and promote responsible father- hood and motherhood. Various parts of the bill cover provision of primary health services in this area, including for safe motherhood, training for health workers, provision of information to those requiring services and promotion of responsible by both partners in a couple.3

Referendum seems likely in Irish abortion debate. -From: In Catholic CircIes 1999; 4(6):3-4. Filipino government considers abortion legislation, increased family planning funding. From: In Catholic Circles 1999; 4(6):4-5. Soto C, 1999. Salud sexual y reproductiva: una propuesta de ley. Revista MujerFempress. 217(Dec):ll.

French women march for abortion rights and Scotland cracks down on abortion extremists

II N January 2000, women’s rights activists organised a demonstration in Paris to cele-

brate 25 years of legal abortion in France and to call for new measures that would liberalise the law further, particularly to make abortion more accessible to women who delay seeking help beyond the first weeks of pregnancy. Some 5,000 French women are forced to seek abortions in other European countries each year because of an exceedingly low time limit (10 weeks) for getting an abortion on request, the lowest in Europe. The last demonstrations for abortion rights in France - in November 1995 and November 1997 - brought together 10,000 people and 30,000 people, respectively. The latter denounced the return of so-called ‘moral order’ and defended the right to contra- ception and aborti0n.l ”

The Health Minister in Scotland has announced

a crackdown on extremist groups targeting abortion clinics, warning them to back off or face a range of tough legal actions. She urged women seeking abortions at clinics and health workers who have been harassed to 6le complaints using existing legislation regarding harassment. Her announcement came amid growing concern over an anti-abortion group called Precious Life, which has set up a branch in Scotland. The Health Minister hopes to keep the situation from escalating to levels seen in the USA, where seven people have been murdered and 12 abortion clinics have been bombed in the last six years2

1. Une manifestation, le 15 janvier, en faveur des droits des femmes. LeMonde. 15 January 2000, pll.

2. Abortion extremists face legal crackdown. Scotsman. 2 December, 1999.

Maternity and employment in Brazil

T HE Legislative Assembly of Sao Paulo, Brazil passed a law on 24 November 1999 protecting

the rights of women workers who may be pregnant to seek work, without endangering their chances of employment. This law is intended to stop discriminatory pregnancy tests being required prior to an offer of employment to women of reproductive age, as practised by some large employers, e.g. according to this source the aeronautics industry and bus c0mpanies.l

1. National Network of Women’s Health and Reproductive Rights (Brazil).

Laws on rape in UK, Canada and Costa Rica and honour killing in Jordan

T HE conviction rate for rape cases in the UK dropped from 24 per cent in 1985 to 6 per cent

in 1999, the lowest rate ever recorded in the country. This is thought to have happened since the law on rape was made more strict and a mini- mum five-year sentence was set for all rape convictions. All rapes are considered to be of the same gravity; a proposal to create a lesser crime of ‘date rape’ with a shorter sentence attached was rejected by the government minister con- cerned. This author argues that not all rapes are the same, and that there should be a range of classifications and differential sentencing for different kinds of “rape cases. She cites the

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example of Canada, where in 1983 the law was changed and the crime of rape was replaced with that of criminal sexual assault on three levels, with a range of sentencing possibilities. The conviction rate in Canada across all three levels of sexual assault in 1999 was 40 per cent.’

In Costa Rica, an article in the Penal Code which provides an exemption from penalty for perpetrators of crimes of indecent assault, abduc- tion or statutory rape if they offer to marry their victims, has been superceded with regard to indecent assault and statutory rape by an August 1999 law against sexual exploitation of minors. The provision exempting those who offer marr- iage after an abduction remains in force.2

In Jordan, the lower house of the parliament voted for the second time against amending the article in the Penal Code which provides a re- duced penalty for men who murder women rela- tives in cases labelled ‘honour killings’. The amendment had been defeated in the lower house in November 1999, was then passed by the upper house in December 1999 and was sent back to a second defeat in January 2000 to the lower house. Its opponents argued that it would incite wide- spread social delinquency, presumably on the part of women. A further vote is to take place sometime this year before the parliamentary session ends. A coalition of women’s groups, journalists, lawyers and other advocates organised a march and rally in February 2000 to protest at the defeat of the amendment, and it was reported that several members of the royal family marched with them.

Sarler C, 2000. AU rapes are not the same. Observer. 9 April. Information from Costa Rican President, in Equality Now. Women’s Action 16.3 Update. March 2000. Information from Reuters, in Equality Now. Women’s Action 16.3 Update. March 2000.

Ban on births from frozen eggs lifted in the UK

T HE UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority announced in January 2000 that

frozen eggs can be used for fertility treatment.l At least 50 women have had eggs removed in the UK and frozen for future use, mostly women undergoing radiation or other cancer treatment that would otherwise have damaged their eggs and made them infertile. Prior to this year, the

Reproductive Health Matters, Vol. 8, NO. 15, ivfay 2000

Authority had not allowed frozen eggs to be fertilised because of lack of sufficient data on safety and concerns about possible chromos- omal defects. The ban was lifted after a report, based on evidence from around the world, in which an independent expert pronounced the procedure to be safe, even though it was ‘not without risk’.z This procedure as carried out in other countries has had low success rates so far, estimated between one and ten per cent, and probably closer to one per cent. However, as it is permitted in more places, there are hopes that these low rates will improve with experience.

1. Ashraf H, 2000. UK allows for frozen eggs for fertility treatment. Lancet. 355:386.

2. Boseley S, 2000. Ban on births from frozen eggs lifted. Guardian. 26 January.

Controversy over posthumous conception of children

M EDICAL advances now make it possible for a man to bear a child after death. There have

been a number of cases in recent years of women posthumously using previously stored semen to conceive a child by insemination. This is termed ‘planned orphanhood’ in one article, which exam- ines the psycho-social and ethical aspects of the medically-assisted birth of children whose concep- tion has been planned by women whose spouses have died prior to the conception. It looks at the situation mainly from the perspective of the offspring and argues that overall ‘there is no doubt that being born an orphan a priori places such children at a relative disadvantage and compels them to cope with the fact that they will never ever know one of their parents’. The paper argues for discouraging this so-called planned orphanhood so as to avoid violating principles of human dignity and liberty, human welfare and human justice.l

In the UK, at least six children born in 1998 were conceived several years after their fathers had died, and a survey of half of the 101 fertility clinics in the UK found that almost one-third had assisted women with posthumous conception. This finding has prompted concerns that these children might face psychological problems in later life.2 The perspectives of women who have conceived in this way, however, provide a more positive view. These are mostly cases where a couple had intended to have children before the

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husband was found to be ill; hence, the men have given their consent to sperm being taken from them for this purpose. The women involved, whose cases are of great interest and get a lot of space in the press, say that the birth of a child has helped to make up for the loss of their partner.3

Under the Human Fertilisation and Embryol- ogy Act of 1990 in the UK, it is illegal to take a man’s sperm without his consent, but once con- sent has been given, the Act does not govern under what circumstances a widow is allowed to use the sperm, leaving it up to individual clinics. In one case, a couple requested that their son’s sperm be taken after his death so that they could have a grandchild, but the hospital refused because the legal situation was unclear. The son, who died in a car crash, had left a document re- questing that some of his sperm be taken so that he could have a child. However, the hospital said that they did not know whether the consent form was properly ratified, or whether he had been offered counselling or received relevant informa- tion before making his decision, a key criterion before sperm can be released under the 1990 Act?

1. Landau R, 1999. Planned orphanhood. Social Science &Medicine. 49:185-96.

2. Norton C, 1999. Concern over babies born to fathers beyond grave. Independent. 12 July.

3. Norton C, 1999. A joy that is conceived in the midst of tragic illness. Guardian. 12 July.

4. Hall S, 1999. Couple fight for child from dead son’s sperm. Guardian. 12 December.

Surrogate pregnancy in Italy

1 N May 1999, the lower house of parliament in Italy approved a law banning surrogate preg-

nancy and all other types of assisted reproduction in which gametes not belonging to the couple are used, but this law is not yet in effect as it has not been yet been voted on by the Senate, the upper house. In late 1999, a civil court in Rome granted permission to a gynaecologist to oversee a surro- gate pregnancy. The Italian Medical Association decided to appeal the ruling on the grounds that the legal situation is pending; the Medical Association’s code of ethics explicitly forbids surrogate motherhood. The Italian Minister of Health announced her intention to formally oppose the judge’s ruling as well.

1. Simini B, 2000. Italy’s surrogate-pregnancy case challenged by medical association. Lancet. 355(18 March). www.lancet.org.u$

Gay and unmarried couples granted parental rights in the UK and social benefits in France

A British gay couple have given birth to twins with a surrogate mother in the USA. They are

the first children to be registered in the UK with two fathers and no mother. The birth certificate officially recognises ‘parent one’ and ‘parent two’. The couple spent f200,OOO in a four-year legal battle before winning approval from the US Supreme Court to arrange the surrogacy and become parents.l

The French parliament voted by 315 votes to 249 to grant unmarried and gay couples many of the same rights as only married couples could previously have with regard to tax, legal and social welfare benefits. This follows similar moves in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Netherlands.2

1.

2.

Woodward W. 1999. Gay couple celebrate birth of twins Aspen and Saffron. Guardian. 13 December:6. Trueheart C, 1999. Gay unions legalized in France. Washington Post. 14 October. From: In CathoJic Circles 1999; 4(5):5.

Pregnant woman sentenced to death by stoning for adultery in the UAE

N Islamic tribunal in the United Arab Emirates A ordered that a 35-year-old pregnant Indones- ian woman, a migrant worker, be stoned to death for adultery. The court acquitted her lover, who fled abroad, in absentia.l

d 1. Pregnant maid faces death by stoning. GulfNews.

28 February 2000. e

Protests over tampon tax in Australia

A ten per cent tax on tampons was recently imposed in Australia, sparking protests by

many women’s groups. A national day of action against the tax was held on 25 February. Women wore T-shirts with the slogan ‘I bleed and I vote!‘.l

1. No taxation on menstruation. 19 February 2000. www.aviva.org ~ j)