The Madras High Court recently gave an important judgement in a case of a failed tubectomy. A woman filed a petition after the hospital where she had a tubectomy refused to compensate her for a failed procedure resulting in her getting pregnant. The court emphasised on the state's lack of proper facilities for sterilisation operations.
The woman opted for Tubectomy Purperal Sterilisation after her second delivery but 8 months later, she conceived again, realising that the procedure was actually ineffective. After delivering her third child, she decided to undergo a tubectomy again but asked the hospital authorities to compensate her for the failed procedure.
The authorities denied it, saying that she had filled out an undertaking after knowing the pros, cons and success rate of the procedure and was supposed to inform the authorities if she missed her periods and abort the child. Hence, she was not liable for compensation. The woman filed a petition in Madras High Court for justice.
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Woman Pregnant After Tubectomy
The high court bench headed by Justice P Pugalendhi reportedly observed that it was a case of inefficiency from the side of the State. The family planning programme is being promoted nationally and it is the duty of the government and medical officials to perform sterilisation procedures properly.
The case was clearly a negligence of the government and authorities in doing their duties. On one hand, the government is trying to control the population growth while on the other hand, it is discouraging people who voluntarily opt for sterilisation by such negligence.
The court held the state and medical officers responsible for this and asked them to bear the expenses of the 'unwanted' third child. The State was additionally ordered to pay 10,000 rupees monthly to the child along with free education in private or government schools. It also directed the government to pay a compensation of 3 lakh rupees to the woman who suffered the impact of failed tubectomy.
Such cases of negligence on the part of authorities actually end up costing people a lot of women, especially women. Not only does she have to bear another child without knowing, but she also has to go through another round of sterilisation process, both of which require a good amount of rest and recovery.
Such blunders impact women's health adversely and often discourage them to visit hospitals for health procedures. Women already neglect their health issues a lot and when they see that medical authorities are not doing their jobs properly, they are sceptical of visiting in the fear of getting another ailment.
The ones financially weak depend on government facilities as they are low-cost and come with benefits. However, when authorities don't provide such basic health benefits properly, they are deprived of that as well.
Women's health is a major issue in our country and negligence of the authorities plays an important role in that. Many government schemes don't reach the target public timely and efficiently, the ones that do are not implemented properly.
This deprives women and the entire public of their right to essential and affordable health services. It is important that the system understands that it is not just about introducing new and better schemes for women and the public in general. They have to make sure that these schemes and services are reaching the right people and are being efficiently implemented in all regions.
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