[Tubal sterilization in mentally handicapped women].
METHODS
When performed for contraception purposes, tubular sterilization for mentally handicapped women poses important ethical issues, including patient's rights, body integrity, and the notion of informed consent. French law guarantees the respect and safety of all patients, but in everyday practice, patient's rights must be upheld by family and healthcare workers searching for the most adapted solutions for each individual situation.
We present here our proposals for everyday practice. Our conclusions are based on an analysis of the notion of handicap as defined by the WHO and on the observed sexual activities of this type of patient. In this context, informed consent involves a number of subjective factors pointing out the difficulty encountered in providing dear comprehensible information. Finally we discuss the ethical issue of tubular sterilization which many consider to be a masked form of eugenism.
Barjot
P
P
Service de Gynécologie-Obstétrique, CHU de Caen, Laboratoire d'éthique médicale et de santé publique, Faculté de Médacine de Necker-Enfants Malades, 156 rue de Vaugirard, F75730 Paris. barjot-p@chu-caen.fr
Hervé
C
C
D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005053:Eugenics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D016743:Mental Competency / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D019989:Persons with Intellectual Disabilities / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D013246:Sterilization, Tubal
Stérilisation tubaire chez la femme handicapée mentale.