A Massachusetts woman is suing Baystate Medical Center for medical malpractice claiming they sterilized her without her consent. The 35 year old mother of nine says doctors violated her reproductive rights.
Tessa Savicki went into the hospital in December 2006 to give birth to her ninth child. She had previously asked doctors to implant an intrauterine birth control device (IUD) following the birth, but instead doctors performed a tubal ligation, permanently preventing her from having any more children.
Savicki’s nine children do not all have the same father, she is unemployed and she receives state aid to support her and her children. She also suffers from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. But she says, taking all of this information into consideration, regardless of how anyone else may feel about her reproductive activity, doctors violated her rights and committed medical malpractice when they performed the unauthorized procedure.
The key that may make all the difference in her lawsuit lies in the fact that Savicki never signed a written consent, which happens to be required under state and federal regulations. Not only must one sign said consent, but it must be signed at least 30 days prior to the procedure being performed. With no proof of consent, doctors in this case may be looking at a difficult road in defending their actions in this case.
It has not yet been specified how much Savicki’s medical lawyer is seeking on her behalf.
