Caesarean section on maternal request: how clear medical evidence fails to produce ethical consensus.
- Authors
- Type
- Published Article
- Journal
- Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology Canada : JOGC = Journal d'obstétrique et gynécologie du Canada : JOGC
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2009
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1176–1179
- Identifiers
- PMID: 20085684
- Source
- Medline
- License
- Unknown
Abstract
National and international bodies have used evidence-based medicine to apply the principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence to guide a physician's response to a request for Caesarean section without medical indication. Although they are nearly unanimous in their condemnation of saying "yes," a physician who weighs risks unequally, who weighs risks in a patient-centred manner, or who values autonomy may find saying "no" to be an unacceptable choice.