Pregnant women's rights

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Pregnant patients' rights or Pregnant women's rights refers to the choices and legal rights available to a woman experiencing pregnancy or childbirth. Specifically those under medical care within a medical establishment or those under the care of a medical professional regardless of location ( under care of paramedics at home, family doctor via phone, etc. ).

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There are many debates that arise from pregnancy rights, ranging from whether or not fertility treatments are 'right' or whether using surrogate mothers is wrong. It comes down to the mother's right. As a woman, there are more challenges than just the fundamentals of the decisions surrounding their pregnancy. Maternity leave, parental leave and the time allotted for these leaves varies from company to company. [1]

The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) gathered in Cairo in September 1994 to discuss and "formulate a consensus position on population and development for the next 20 years". [2] One of the other goals was to make education and medical services available to women while they are pregnant, and when the time comes, have delivery options available. A main concern has always been postnatal care; people think that the hardest part is the birth of the child but there are so many additional concerns once the child is born and brought into this world. Complications both prior to pregnancy, during delivery, and after delivery are a potential concern in all births, the ICPD talked about enhancing the available support for all women. [2] Pregnancy rights throughout the world are not going to be the same in every single place but the ICPD is aiming to eliminate discrimination during pregnancy and make all pregnant patients' rights available to everyone.

Nurses and patients sometimes run into troubles because their opinions will often vary in what they think should be done in terms of termination or pre- and postnatal care. [3] As Kane, 2009 states "The NMC code of professional conduct states that: ‘you must make the care of people your first concern’." Enforcing that the nurses opinions really should be kept to themselves so as to not influence the decision of the patients.

Rights of pregnant women

The rights of pregnant women are defined by a set of recognized rights and protections specified by national laws and international regulations. Here are some of the rights of pregnant women :

  1. Right to Access Healthcare: Pregnant women have the right to access necessary healthcare during their pregnancy. This includes regular check-ups and counseling on nutrition and fetal health.
  2. Right to Privacy and Confidentiality: The medical information of pregnant women should be treated with confidentiality and privacy, ensuring its security from any leaks.
  3. Maternity Leave Rights: Pregnant women have the right to maternity leave with pay, allowing them to rest and care for their infants.
  4. Non-Discrimination: Pregnant women should not face discrimination based on their physical condition, whether in the workplace or in daily life.
  5. Protection from Harmful Work: Pregnant women must be protected from tasks that could be harmful to their health and the health of the fetus.
  6. Breastfeeding Leave Rights: Working women have the right to breastfeeding leave to care for their infants.
  7. Right to Choose: Pregnant women have the right to make decisions regarding their pregnancy, including the choice to continue or terminate it.

It's important to consider that the respect and application of these rights can vary from one situation to another and may depend on social and legal contexts. These rights encompass the protection of pregnancy and maternity and the promotion of women's and fetal health. [4]

By country

Rights in Australia

In Australia pregnant women have the same rights as any other member of society. However, they do have some extra rights when it comes to their rights in the workforce.

Pregnant women's rights in the workforce

Under the Fair Work Act 2009 section [5] pregnant women are still entitled to the same amount of sick leave as any other individual as being pregnant does not classify as an illness. A Pregnant woman however is able to take unpaid leave for "special maternity leave", this is maternity leave that she can take if she has a pregnancy related illness or the pregnancy ends any time after the first trimester due to a miscarriage, a stillbirth or a termination.

Safe jobs is when the women moves to a safer job while being because her original job is dangerous to her and the baby. She will need to provide evidence that she can still work but unable to perform the original tasks and how long she shouldn't work in her job for. An example for proving these would be with a medical certificate. In the circumstances where there is no safer jobs to offer the women can take no safe jobs leave. The employee takes paid leave if she is entitled to unpaid parental leave and unpaid leave if she is not. [5]

Discrimination in the workforce against pregnant women is illegal. This means that she can not be fired, lose hours, demoted and treated differently because of her pregnancy. [6]

Terminating the pregnancy

In Australia the laws on termination change between each state and territory. In Western Australia, termination is considered lawful up until 20 weeks of pregnancy. A termination after 20 weeks can only be undertaken if there is two medical practitioners from a panel of six that agree that the women or the fetus has or will have a serious medical condition if the pregnancy continued. [7]

Immunisation

During pregnancy, women have the right to seek getting immunised with the influenza vaccine ("Flu Shot") and the adult dTpa vaccine (pertussis). Both of these vaccines are recommended; however, it is up to the individual whether or not to go ahead with the vaccinations. [8]

Islam and abortion rights

In Islamic jurisprudence, abortion is generally considered forbidden (haram) unless there is a threat to the life of the mother. However, there is a difference of opinion among religious scholars regarding the circumstances under which abortion may be considered permissible. Some scholars view abortion as permissible if there is a threat to the mother's health, if the pregnancy is a result of rape, or if it is determined that the fetus is suffering from severe abnormalities. Nevertheless, there is a general consensus among scholars that abortion for non-essential, material, or social reasons is not permissible.

Fatwas and legal rulings concerning abortion are a sensitive issue and depend on individual and surrounding circumstances. Some countries allow abortion under certain circumstances under civil and medical laws regulated by the state. [9]

Immunisation of pregnant women and ethics

Immunising pregnant women presents specific ethical considerations due to the need to protect both the health of the mother and that of the fetus.

Risk and Benefit Assessment: Before administering vaccines to a pregnant woman, it is crucial to carefully assess the potential risks to both the mother and the fetus in relation to the benefits of vaccination. The decision should be based on strong scientific evidence and thorough ethical evaluation.

Informed Consent: Obtaining informed consent from the pregnant woman before proceeding with immunisation is imperative. This involves providing clear information about potential benefits, possible risks, and available alternatives, so she can make an informed decision.

Safety and Efficacy: Vaccines administered to pregnant women should be pre-tested for safety and efficacy during pregnancy. It is essential to have robust scientific data to ensure that the benefits for the mother and the fetus outweigh any potential risks.

Communication and Transparency: Clear and transparent communication about the benefits, risks, and uncertainties associated with immunisation during pregnancy is essential to build trust and facilitate informed decision-making. Information should be provided in an understandable and culturally sensitive manner.

Management of Adverse Effects: Having appropriate protocols for monitoring potential adverse effects of vaccines administered to pregnant women is important. Establishing mechanisms for monitoring and providing adequate care is essential to ensure the safety and well-being of pregnant women and their fetuses.

Immunising pregnant women, therefore, requires a thorough ethical assessment that considers safety, efficacy, transparent communication, and informed consent. It is crucial to adopt a balanced approach that ensures the protection of maternal health while minimising risks to the fetus. [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abortion in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of the legality and prevalence of abortions in the United Kingdom

Abortion in the United Kingdom is de facto available under the terms of the Abortion Act 1967 in Great Britain and the Abortion (No.2) Regulations 2020 in Northern Ireland. The procurement of an abortion remains a criminal offence in Great Britain under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, although the Abortion Act provides a legal defence for both the pregnant woman and her doctor in certain cases. Although a number of abortions did take place before the 1967 Act, there have been around 10 million abortions in the United Kingdom. Around 200,000 abortions are carried out in England and Wales each year and just under 14,000 in Scotland; the most common reason cited under the ICD-10 classification system for around 98% of all abortions is "risk to woman's mental health."

Abortion in Ireland is regulated by the Health Act 2018. Abortion is permitted in Ireland during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, and later in cases where the pregnant woman's life or health is at risk, or in the cases of a fatal foetal abnormality. Abortion services commenced on 1 January 2019, following its legalisation by the aforementioned Act, which became law on 20 December 2018. Previously, the 8th Constitutional Amendment had given the life of the unborn foetus the same value as that of its mother, but the 36th constitutional amendment, approved by referendum in May 2018, replaced this with a clause permitting the Oireachtas (parliament) to legislate for the termination of pregnancies.

The abortion debate is a longstanding, ongoing controversy that touches on the moral, legal, medical, and religious aspects of induced abortion. In English-speaking countries, the debate most visibly polarizes around adherents of the self-described "pro-choice" and "pro-life" movements. Pro-choice supporters uphold that individuals have the right to make their own decisions about their reproductive health, and that they should have the option to end a pregnancy if they choose to do so, taking into account various factors such as the stage of fetal development, the health of the mother, and the circumstances of the conception. Pro-life advocates, on the other hand, maintain that a fetus is a human being with inherent rights that cannot be overridden by the mother’s choice or circumstances, and that abortion is morally wrong in most or all cases. Both terms are considered loaded in mainstream media, where terms such as "abortion rights" or "anti-abortion" are generally preferred.

Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows:

Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.

Abortion in Sweden was first legislated by the Abortion Act of 1938. This stated that an abortion could be legally performed in Sweden upon medical, humanitarian, or eugenical grounds. That is, if the pregnancy constituted a serious threat to the woman's life, if she had been impregnated by rape, or if there was a considerable chance that any serious condition might be inherited by her child, she could request an abortion. The law was later augmented in 1946 to include socio-medical grounds and again in 1963 to include the risk of serious fetal damage. A committee investigated whether these conditions were met in each individual case and, as a result of this prolonged process, abortion was often not granted until the middle of the second trimester. As such, a new law was created in 1974, stating that the choice of an abortion is entirely up to the woman until the end of the 18th week.

Pregnancy discrimination is a type of employment discrimination that occurs when expectant women are fired, not hired, or otherwise discriminated against due to their pregnancy or intention to become pregnant. Common forms of pregnancy discrimination include not being hired due to visible pregnancy or likelihood of becoming pregnant, being fired after informing an employer of one's pregnancy, being fired after maternity leave, and receiving a pay dock due to pregnancy. Pregnancy discrimination may also take the form of denying reasonable accommodations to workers based on pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions. Pregnancy discrimination has also been examined to have an indirect relationship with the decline of a mother's physical and mental health. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women prohibits dismissal on the grounds of maternity or pregnancy and ensures right to maternity leave or comparable social benefits. The Maternity Protection Convention C 183 proclaims adequate protection for pregnancy as well. Though women have some protection in the United States because of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, it has not completely curbed the incidence of pregnancy discrimination. The Equal Rights Amendment could ensure more robust sex equality ensuring that women and men could both work and have children at the same time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual and reproductive health</span> State of the reproductive system without evidence of disease, disorders, or deficiencies

Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, health care, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's reproductive system and sexual well-being during all stages of their life.

Many jurisdictions have laws applying to minors and abortion. These parental involvement laws require that one or more parents consent or be informed before their minor daughter may legally have an abortion.

Abortion is illegal in El Salvador. The law formerly permitted an abortion to be performed under some limited circumstances, but in 1998 all exceptions were removed when a new abortion law went into effect.

The genetics and abortion issue is an extension of the abortion debate and the disability rights movement. Since the advent of forms of prenatal diagnosis, such as amniocentesis and ultrasound, it has become possible to detect the presence of congenital disorders in the fetus before birth. Specifically, disability-selective abortion is the abortion of fetuses that are found to have non-fatal mental or physical defects detected through prenatal testing. Many prenatal tests are now considered routine, such as testing for Down syndrome. Women who are discovered to be carrying fetuses with disabilities are often faced with the decision of whether to abort or to prepare to parent a child with disabilities.

Pregnant patients' rights regarding medical care during the pregnancy and childbirth are specifically a patient's rights within a medical setting and should not be confused with pregnancy discrimination. A great deal of discussion regarding pregnant patients' rights has taken place in the United States.

The Dominican Republic is one of 24 countries in the world and one of six in Latin America that has a complete ban on abortion. This complete ban includes situations in which a pregnant person’s life is at risk.

Abortion in Spain is legal upon request up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, and at later stages for serious risk to the health of the woman or fetal defects.

Abortion in Greece has been fully legalized since 1986, when Law 1609/1986 was passed effective from 3 July 1986. Partial legalization of abortion in Greece was passed in Law 821 in 1978 that provided for the legal termination of a pregnancy, with no time limitation, in the event of a threat to the health or life of the woman. This law also allowed for termination up to the 12th week of pregnancy due to psychiatric indications and to the 20th week due to fetal pathology. Following the passage of the 1986 law, abortions can be performed on-demand in hospitals for women whose pregnancies have not exceeded 12 weeks. In the case of rape or incest, an abortion can occur as late as 19 weeks, and as late as 24 weeks in the case of fetal abnormalities. In case of inevitable risk to the life of the pregnant woman or a risk of serious and continuous damage to her physical or mental health, termination of pregnancy is legal any time before birth. Girls under the age of 18 must get written permission from a parent or guardian before being allowed an abortion.

Abortion in Zimbabwe is available under limited circumstances. Zimbabwe's current abortion law, the Termination of Pregnancy Act, was enacted by Rhodesia's white minority government in 1977. The law permits abortion if the pregnancy endangers the life of the woman or threatens to permanently impair her physical health, if the child may be born with serious physical or mental defects, or if the fetus was conceived as a result of rape or incest. Nevertheless, an estimated 70,000+ illegal abortions are performed in Zimbabwe each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abortion-rights movements</span> Social movement advocating for legal access to abortion

Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pregnancy without fear of legal or social backlash. These movements are in direct opposition to anti-abortion movements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death of Savita Halappanavar</span> Woman who died from sepsis from being denied an abortion in Ireland

Savita Halappanavar was a dentist of Indian origin, living in Ireland, who died from sepsis after her request for an abortion was denied on legal grounds. In the wake of a nationwide outcry over her death, voters passed in a landslide the Thirty-Sixth Amendment of the Constitution, which repealed the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland and empowered the Oireachtas to legislate for abortion. It did so through the Health Act 2018, signed into law on 20 December 2018.

Maternal somatic support after brain death occurs when a brain dead patient is pregnant and their body is kept alive to deliver a fetus. It occurs very rarely internationally. Even among brain dead patients, in a U.S. study of 252 brain dead patients from 1990–96, only 5 (2.8%) cases involved pregnant women between 15 and 45 years of age.

A termination for medical reasons (TFMR) is an induced abortion motivated by medical indications involving the fetus or mother. In most countries, health risks are the only basis for obtaining a legal abortion. Prenatal screening can allow early diagnosis, and abortion if desired or necessary. Some medical organizations advocate the offer of diagnostic testing by chorionic villi sampling, and amniocentesis to all pregnant women, as a matter of course.

Conscientious objection to abortion is the right of medical staff to refuse participation in abortion for personal belief.

References

  1. ↑ "Your pregnancy rights". 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  2. 1 2 McIntosh, C. A., & Finkle, J. L. (1995). "The Cairo conference on population and development: A new paradigm?" (PDF). Population and Development Review. 21 (2): 223–260. doi:10.2307/2137493. JSTOR   2137493. S2CID   156381362. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-02-08.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ Kane, R. (2009). "Conscientious objection to termination of pregnancy: the competing rights of patients and nurses". Journal of Nursing Management. 17 (7): 907–912. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2008.00888.x . PMID   19793248.
  4. ↑ بلعسلي, ويزة (2020). "تجريم التسول بإستغلال الأطفال في القانون الجزائري". مجلة العلوم الإنسانية: 297. doi:10.34174/0079-031-004-020. S2CID   238072165.
  5. 1 2 "Federal Register of Legislation".
  6. ↑ "SEX DISCRIMINATION AMENDMENT (PREGNANCY AND WORK) ACT 2003 No. 103, 2003".
  7. ↑ "Abortion Law in Australia".
  8. ↑ "Immunise Australia Program".
  9. ↑ غانم, عمرو محمد (2022-02-01). "نفخ الروح في الجنين بين الفقه الإسلامي والطب المعاصر دراسة مقارنة". مجلة قطاع الشريعة والقانون (in Arabic). 13 (13): 1585–1638. doi: 10.21608/jssl.2022.229463 . ISSN   2805-329X.
  10. ↑ Esparon, Priscilla; Hunot-Onnis, Carole; Bruel, Sébastien (2022-12-01). "Vaccination des femmes enceintes et allaitantes : synthèse des données utiles au médecin généraliste pour répondre aux interrogations parentales extraites des forums de santé". Médecine. 18 (10): 468–474. doi:10.1684/med.2022.831. ISSN   1777-2044.
  11. ↑ Moreil-Sicart, Brigitte (May 2015). "La sage-femme, acteur de santé publique : état des lieux et perspectives". Vocation Sage-femme. 14 (114): 31–34. doi:10.1016/j.vsf.2015.03.007. ISSN   1634-0760.

5. Federal Register of Legislation. (2009). Fair Work act. Retrieved from https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00332

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