Symphysiotomy report begets more questions

Judge Maureen Harding Clark’s findings downplay physical toll of procedure and fail to recognise women’s right to consent in childbirth, says Prof Linda Connolly

SYMPHYSIOTOMIES were carried out on 1,500 women in Ireland up to the 1980s, long after it was discontinued in other jurisdictions.

The controversial procedure cut the cartilage of a pregnant woman’s pelvic bone (breaking the bone in extreme cases) to widen the birth canal.