Normalised suffering: obstetric violence in LF v. Ireland

Mairead Enright*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (peer-reviewed)peer-review

Abstract

This chapter examines the European Court of Human Rights judgment in LF v. Ireland [2020] ECHR 364. LF concerns the Irish experience of symphysiotomy; a childbirth operation performed as an alternative to C-section. LF argued that the state was obliged to establish an independent investigation into the practice, and that this obligation derived from Article 3 (freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment) and Article 8 (private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court rejected her argument. This chapter examines the Court’s reasoning from an obstetric violence perspective. It shows that the Court legitimates a patriarchal account of Irish practices of symphysiotomy. On this account, medicine is non-violent by default. The potential violence of obstetric medicine is invisible except where doctors depart radically from prevailing medical standards, or deliberately inflict suffering.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationResearch Handbook on Gender, Violence and Law
PublisherEdward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
Publication statusAccepted/In press - 19 Dec 2024

Bibliographical note

Not yet published as of 23/01/2025

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