By Alessandra Suuberg, Decency LLC
This week, STAT News told the story of patients with sickle cell disease who felt coerced into sterilization by their doctors.
According to STAT, some of these individuals said “they would not have agreed” to the procedures “if they’d received more accurate information.” The outlet also stated that seven out of 50 women interviewed “reported being sterilized with questionable consent.”
As the outlet points out, the idea of sterilization without informed consent may feel like a historical practice. But their investigation also suggests that modern practices can sometimes echo the past.
Coercion vs. Pressure in Medicine
For me, the coverage brought to mind a theme briefly discussed at a recent bioethics conference in Washington:
As new techniques or technologies enter medical practice, could patients feel coerced to use them?
Notably, STAT’s piece suggests that coercion in medicine is not limited to “government-sanctioned” practices, and instead can also include pressure from the medical profession. This pressure can take various forms.
With that in mind, in addition to the sickle cell context, where is pressure seen today in medicine? What forms does it take? Where might patients encounter it in the future?
More Examples in the News
The topic of pressure in medicine was addressed in a December 2023 piece from Ruhr Universität Bochum in Germany, specifically with respect to psychiatry.
The piece discusses research in which 14 patients were interviewed “to find out how they experience verbal pressure” in psychiatry. Excerpts from their responses are shared here in BMC Psychiatry (2022).
In another context, in March 2024, the Chicago Tribune noted concerns about coercion with respect to medical aid in dying (MAiD).
The Chicago Tribune quoted the vice president of a disability service nonprofit, who “worrie[d] that patients could be steered or coerced into ending their lives, particularly by insurance companies,” if MAiD is viewed “as a cheaper alternative to more expensive treatments or care.”
Bioethicists may also be familiar with a different perspective on a similar topic: What if a patient is coerced to accept new life-saving measures, when their explicit wish would instead be to die?
Finally, in the context of reproductive medicine, headlines in recent years have focused on a variety of angles including “a surge in pronatalism” (Newsweek, February 2023), “abortion coercion” legislation (Iowa Capital Dispatch, April 2024), and “birth control coercion” (TheGrio, May 2024).
Disclaimer: The information and opinions on this site do not include legal advice or the advice of a licensed healthcare provider.