ABSTRACT
In 1984, in Chicago, a Nigerian woman expecting triplets was hospitalized for the final period of her pregnancy. The woman and her husband steadfastly reiterated their unwillingness to con sent to the Caesarean section that doctors regarded as necessary for a safe multiple birth.* 1 As the woman’s due date approached, doctors and hospital legal counsel obtained a court order granting the hospital administrator temporary custody of the triplets and authorizing a Caesarean section as soon as the woman went into labor. “Although this plan was known to all the residents, it was never presented to the patient. She was not given the opportunity to seek care elsewhere.”2
