A court in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has condemned the Canarian health service for prolonging a twin birth by 17 hours without giving the mother the option of a cesarean section. One of the babies suffered brain injuries. The judge recognizes the “fundamental right” of the mother to decide.
1,000,000 euros of compensation
A sentence that marks jurisprudence regarding the right of women to decide how to give birth and do it naturally or by caesarean section once they are aware of all the advantages and disadvantages of each method. It all happened at the hospital in Las Palmas de Gran Canarias in 2016. According to the ruling, labor lasted “unnecessarily” for 17 hours and caused one of the minors to have an 80% degree of disability. That sentence now condemns the Canary Islands health to pay one million euros in compensation.
“Justice has been done after 5 years fighting the case”
In Espejo Público we have spoken with the mother’s lawyer, with Javier Navarro. He assures that it is an important victory after five years of fighting, because he recognizes obstetric violence: “justice has been done after 5 years fighting the case. It creates a very important legal precedent.” And he adds that: “the sentence confirms that obstetric violence has occurred during childbirth. It has to be the mother or the father who makes the decisions about childbirth. The right to assume the risks does not belong to the doctor, the risks belong to the patient” .
