Are we still ‘policing pregnancy'?

During the 1990s, seven cases were heard concerning the ability of women in the later stages of pregnancy to choose their method of delivery. ¹ In every case, for various reasons, it was declared lawful to perform a caesarean section against the woman’s wishes. These cases caused some commentators, including Margaret Brazier and ourselves, to consider the moral and legal responsibilities of pregnant women for foetal health when the decision to continue the pregnancy to term had been made. ² While some questioned whether the decision of the Court of Appeal in St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust v S ³ was the end of the story, ⁴ Brazier presciently cautioned that ‘the conclusion, or news of a conclusion, to the story is premature… in terms of legal analysis because other issues where liberty and procreative responsibility conflict remain to be resolved’. ⁵ Only one case involving a court-ordered caesarean was reported between 1998 and 2003, ⁶ but since 2013 at least five have been heard, ⁷ all involving women under the protection of the Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA). When these cases are read alongside the decisions relating to CP (A Child) v First-tier Tribunal (Criminal Injuries Compensation), ⁸ discussed by Emma Cave and Catherine Stanton in this collection, ⁹ we see that the issue of maternal responsibility during pregnancy is again in the spotlight.