ABSTRACT
As discussed in the last chapter, applications for declaratory relief or injunction to override refusals of recommended treatment may leave pregnant woman at a significant disadvantage and, in particular, the urgency of these decisions usually leaves little time for examination of the evidence. Such evidence as has been presented has tended to be taken at face value by the courts, yet there are worrying indications that, as well as at times abusing the power imbalance in such hearings, obstetric recommendations are often subjective, fluid and divergent. Accuracy of Medical Evidence As Caesarean section is one of the most common procedures subject to legal intervention as well as, currently, the most invasive, the evidence supporting its use will be considered in detail.
