Birth Rights in the European Union: Mobilizing Change
Monday November 4th 2013 9:00-17:30
Blankenberge, Belgium
In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights declared that women have a human right to choose the circumstances in which they give birth. This event will explore the implications of that ruling for birth systems across Europe, and the spectrum of legal actions that have evoked their human rights in nations from the west to the east.
HRiC will convene consumers, birth professionals, & lawyers, from countries across Europe, who are engaged in lawsuits that evoke the 2010 case of Ternovszky v. Hungary. Conference participants will work toward the creation of a road map for political action capable of making human rights a reality for birthing women everywhere.
Program
9:00 Opening Session & Keynotes
9:30 Panel: Ternovszky Defense
In the Ternovszky decision, the ECHR held that European states violate the rights of birthing women when they sanction birth professionals for supporting women in their birth choices/rights. This panel will consist of four midwives, from different European nations, who have faced legal sanction in association with out-of-hospital birth services. Each midwife will appear with her lawyer Panelists will describe the individual and national circumstances giving rise to their case, and how the Ternovszky holding has been incorporated into the defense.
10:30 Break
11:00 Panel: Economics & Ethics
The implementation of the Ternovszky holding has the potential to cause a paradigm shift in maternity care systems across Europe. This panel will speak to the economic, financial, and ethical implications of the Ternovszky holding and of debates about women’s rights in childbirth. Speakers will unpack the financials of current obstetric maternity systems, assess the monopoly and antitrust issues underlying the relationship between midwifery and medicine, and illuminate the ethical assumptions at play in debates around safety, authority, and autonomy in childbirth.
12:00 Panel: Ternovszky Offense
This panel will consist of mothers from across Europe who have brought lawsuits because their nation is failing to recognize and support their autonomy and authority in childbirth. Four mothers from different European nations will appear with their lawyers and describe the suits that they have brought, before both national courts and the ECHR, to claim rights ranging from the right to refuse an episiotomy, to the right to give birth in a birth center, to the right to give birth at home after a previous cesarean section. Each mother will describe her nation’s birth system and her personal motivation for bringing legal action. Lawyers will describe the incorporation of the Ternovszky holding into the complaint, and responses that these arguments have received.
1:00 Lunch
2:30 Round-Table #1
3:30 Round-Table #2
These sessions will consist of hour-long small group discussions of 10-12 people. Each round table discussion will be led by an expert with experience and insight into the issue at stake. Confirmed round-table leaders include Robbie Davis-Floyd, Debra Pascali-Bonaro, and Betty-Anne Daviss. Participants can register for their choice of topic in Round-Table Sessions 1 & 2 in advance of the conference, on a first-come, first-serve basis.
4:30 Break
4:50 Plenary Session
5:45 Closing Session
Venue:
8370 Blankenberge Belgium
Duinse Polders
Ruzettelaan 195
See: www.duindepolders.be
Registration:
You can register for this event at Conference@HumanRightsinChildbirth.com
Fee:
Early Bird Price €69 regular/ €39 students.
After August 15: €99 and €49 for students
Note: this fee does not include your overnight stay, food and beverages
Lodging:
Rooms are available for € 60, including 3 meals at the venue.
For more information: info@duinsepolders.be
How to travel to Blankenberge