Devika Biswas v. Union of India
Country: IndiaYear: 2016
Court: The Supreme Court of India
Citation: (2016) 10 SCC 726
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Hospitals, Informed consent, Medical malpractice, Sexual and reproductive health, Water, sanitation and hygiene
Human Rights: Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to bodily integrity, Right to health
The petitioner in the present case claimed that a sterilization camp managed by an NGO in Bihar was conducting sterilization without following any proper protocol. More than 50 women had undergone sterilization at the camp without being provided any kind of counseling and information about the procedure. The procedure of the sterilization was highly unsanitary; …Read more
Government of the Republic of Namibia v. LM et al.
Country: NamibiaYear: 2014
Court: Supreme Court of Namibia
Citation: [2014] NASC 19
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Health information, HIV/AIDS, Informed consent, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Right to bodily integrity, Right to family life
The respondents, three Namibian HIV positive pregnant women, were sterilized while undergoing emergency caesareans. The respondents each signed a consent form, which included consent to the caesarean operation and sterilization through bilateral tubal ligation (BLT) but claimed that they did not provide informed consent which is required for sterilization to be considered lawful. The first …Read more
Government of the Republic of Namibia v. LM, et al.
Country: NamibiaYear: 2014
Court: Supreme Court
Citation: (SA 49/2012) [2014] NASC 19
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Health information, HIV/AIDS, Hospitals, Informed consent, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Right to bodily integrity, Right to family life, Right to privacy
Three Namibian women who were all pregnant and HIV-positive were sterilized at State hospitals after giving birth. The women claimed they were sterilized without their informed consent, and that they were sterilized due to their HIV-positive status. The first woman said that her doctor (through her nurse) told her that all HIV-positive women must have …Read more
I.V. v. Bolivia (Merits)
Country: BoliviaYear: 2014
Court: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Citation: Report No. 72/14, Case 12.655; Merits I.V. BOLIVIA; August 15, 2014
Health Topics: Informed consent, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Freedom from discrimination, Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to bodily integrity, Right to family life, Right to privacy
I.V. went to a hospital for a cesarean section and was sterilized by her doctor. She alleged that the only questions that the doctor had asked her before the procedure were where she had her first cesarean section and whether she had previously had an infection. I.V. maintained that she was not given any information …Read more
L.H. v. Latvia
Country: LatviaYear: 2014
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application No. 52019/07
Health Topics: Health information, Hospitals, Informed consent, Medical malpractice, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Right to privacy
The applicant gave birth by Caesarean section in the Cesis District Central Hospital (Cesis Hospital) in 1997. The surgeon conducting the Caesarean section performed a tubal ligation (surgical contraception) without the applicant’s consent. The applicant commenced civil proceedings against the hospital to recover damages for the unauthorized procedure. Ultimately, in December 2006, the applicant’s claim …Read more
G.B. and R.B. v. The Republic of Moldova
Country: MoldovaYear: 2013
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application No. 16761/09
Health Topics: Hospitals, Informed consent, Medical malpractice, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Right to bodily integrity, Right to family life
Plaintiffs in this case were husband and wife. When G.B. was giving birth at the Stefan-Vodă regional hospital, a state-owned regional hospital, the head of the obstetrics and gynecology department preformed a Caesarean section on her and removed her ovaries and Fallopian tubes without obtaining her permission. As a result, G.B. suffered early menopause and …Read more
I.G. and Others v. Slovakia
Country: SlovakiaYear: 2012
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: App. No. 15966/04
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Hospitals, Informed consent, Medical malpractice, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Freedom from discrimination, Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right of access to information, Right to family life
Three applicants of Roma ethnic origin were all sterilized in a public hospital during Caesarean section deliveries. The first applicant was not told that she had been sterilized. After the delivery, a doctor asked her to sign a document that all women who had Caesarean sections had to sign. Five days after the delivery she …Read more
N.B. v Slovakia
Country: SlovakiaYear: 2012
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: N.B. v Slovakia, App. No. 29518/10, Eur. Ct. H.R. (2012).
Health Topics: Child and adolescent health, Health care and health services, Hospitals, Informed consent, Medical malpractice, Mental health, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Freedom from discrimination, Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right to bodily integrity, Right to family life
Ms. N.B. was of Roma ethnic origin. She was sterilized at a public hospital, at the age of 17, during the birth of her second child. Ms. N.B. asserted that she had been coerced into signing authorizations for her sterilization, that she was segregated within the hospital due to her ethnicity and that the decision …Read more
V.C. v. Slovakia
Country: SlovakiaYear: 2011
Court: European Court of Human Rights
Citation: App. No. 18968/07, Eur. Ct. H.R. (2011).
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Hospitals, Informed consent, Medical malpractice, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Freedom from discrimination, Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Right of access to information, Right to family life, Right to privacy
The applicant, a woman of Roma origin, was sterilized at the hospital during the delivery of her second child. Prior to the Cesarean section, the medical personnel allegedly asked the applicant whether she wanted any more children. When she expressed that she did, the medical personnel allegedly told the applicant that if she got pregnant …Read more
Case of K.H and Others v. Slovakia
Country: SlovakiaYear: 2009
Court: The European Court of Human Rights
Citation: Application no. 32881/04
Health Topics: Health care and health services, Health information, Hospitals, Informed consent, Medical malpractice, Sexual and reproductive health
Human Rights: Right of access to information, Right to bodily integrity
The applicants are Slovakian females. After their treatment in two Eastern Slovakian hospitals for their pregnancies and deliveries, they could not conceive after multiple attempts. They suspected that a sterilisation procedure must have been conducted during their caesarean delivery. The lawyers of the plaintiffs attempted to get their medical records from the hospitals but were …Read more