Titled ‘Medical Treatment, Miscarriages and Consent’, the paper explores the current legislative framework for provision of information on, and consent to, options for disposal of pregnancy remains pre-24 weeks’ gestation.

In her blog post on the SLSA website, Louise explained:

“The paper arose out of research conducted as part of the Death Before Birth (DBB) Project, which examined the extent to which Human Tissue Authority (HTA) guidance on disposal of pregnancy remains has been incorporated into hospital policies.

The guidance sets out different options for disposing of pregnancy remains and requires that women are informed of all options before their consent to disposal is sought. However, the DBB research revealed a wide variation between Hospital Trusts as to which options were offered, with women who miscarried at home often being excluded from information about disposal even when they had sought medical advice.”

The paper, which will be published later this year, argues that that disposal of pregnancy remains should be seen as part of the continuum of medical treatment, and uses existing case law to overcome legislative gaps relating to informed consent on medical treatment.

Further details of Louise’s presentation can be found in her blog post on the SLSA website.