Peer-Reviewed Journal Details
Mandatory Fields
McCarthy, J;Murphy, S;Loughrey, M
2008
September
Nursing Ethics
Gender and power: The Irish hysterectomy scandal
Validated
WOS: 6 ()
Optional Fields
15
643
655
In April 2004 the Irish Government commissioned Judge Maureen Harding Clark to compile a report to ascertain the rate of caesarean hysterectomies at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Republic of Ireland. The report came about as a result of complaints by midwives into questionable practices that were mainly (but not solely) attributed to one particular obstetrician. In this article we examine the findings of this Report through a feminist lens in order to explore what a feminist reading of the Report and the events that led to the inquiry will bring to light. We consider how sex and gender feature in the Lourdes case, draw attention to the deeply gendered asymmetries of power and privilege that existed between the men and women at the centre of this inquiry, and explore the impact such asymmetries had on this particular situation.
LONDON
0969-7330
10.1177/0969733008092873
Grant Details