TY - JOUR
T1 - How COVID-19 highlights an ongoing pandemic of neglect and oppression when it comes to women's reproductive rights
AU - Dahlen, Hannah G.
AU - Kumar-Hazard, Bashi
AU - Chiarella, Mary
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has exposed an underlying pandemic of neglect affecting women's reproductive rights, particularly in the provision of abortion services and maternity care. The systemic neglect in the Australian context has resulted in a rise in demand for the services provided by privately practising midwives (PPMs) that is not matched by systemic support for, nor recognition of, women choosing to birth at home. As a result, PPMs are unable to meet the rise in demand, which in itself reflects decades of limited State support for the choice to birth at home and opposition by incumbent stakeholders in the provision of maternity care to healthy women with low-risk pregnancies. We discuss the historical backdrop to these currently erupting issues, along with the real reasons for the opposition to PPMs in Australia. Finally, we offer solutions to this ongoing issue.
AB - The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic has exposed an underlying pandemic of neglect affecting women's reproductive rights, particularly in the provision of abortion services and maternity care. The systemic neglect in the Australian context has resulted in a rise in demand for the services provided by privately practising midwives (PPMs) that is not matched by systemic support for, nor recognition of, women choosing to birth at home. As a result, PPMs are unable to meet the rise in demand, which in itself reflects decades of limited State support for the choice to birth at home and opposition by incumbent stakeholders in the provision of maternity care to healthy women with low-risk pregnancies. We discuss the historical backdrop to these currently erupting issues, along with the real reasons for the opposition to PPMs in Australia. Finally, we offer solutions to this ongoing issue.
UR - https://hdl.handle.net/1959.7/uws:62332
M3 - Article
SN - 1320-159X
VL - 27
SP - 812
EP - 828
JO - Journal of Law and Medicine
JF - Journal of Law and Medicine
IS - 4
ER -