Rinat Dray: NYC Bar Association Supports Woman Who Sued Hospital for Forced C-Section (Law Street)
Law Street, January 19, 2017
Rinat Dray: NYC Bar Association Supports Woman Who Sued Hospital for Forced C-Section
“In 2011, Rinat Dray went to Staten Island Hospital, already in labor. She had already had two babies through C-sections and had her mind set on giving birth naturally. But she said the doctor immediately started persuading her to have a C-section. In 2014 she sued the hospital for malpractice, among other claims, saying that the doctors did not care about her judgment as a mother, but pressured and threatened her. The hospital claimed it had followed its ‘Managing Maternal Refusals’ policy–a policy for how to deal with mentally competent mothers when they refuse the medical decisions the doctors recommend. The case was heavily covered in the media, but the court did not agree with most of her claims. Now, she’s appealing the case, and the New York City Bar Association has filed an amicus brief in support of Dray. The new brief argues that New York state law requires hospitals to give patients access to adequate information beforehand, so they can make informed decisions about their own health care. The hospital allegedly never told Dray about the ‘Maternal Refusals’ policy or what choices she had. Also, as the brief notes, it’s against New York law to force patients to undergo care they have not consented to. C-sections are also significantly more likely to cause health problems both for the mother and the baby than natural childbirth. In Dray’s case, her bladder was cut during surgery.”
