"Denied sterilisation"

If the patient has said they will not regret it then take their word for it. Regret is based on the patient’s personality and their life. You are not the patient so you cannot say they might/will regret getting sterilised therefore you cannot deny a patient on the basis they could regret it as you are NOT the patient and living their life.

The best way to determine regret is to ask the question, what if you end up regretting it? The following answers or similar counts as the patient understanding the risk and therefore cannot be denied:

I can always adopt.

I have to live with my choices and that is the simple truth as I cannot blame anyone else for my actions because I chose this.

I won’t regret it as I know I never want to have a child.

People who know they do not want children know they do not want children. You just have to deal with the fact that not everyone wants children, and they should not be denied sterilisation because the health professional disagrees on the topic of sterilisation and or thinks the patient might regret it.

The main point here is to show that you have to cover every single possible outcome to make actual guidelines which means when you take everything into account you realise that the sections about regret and taking special care on people are actually completely nullified and it all comes down to what the patient wants therefore you cannot deny someone who has done their research, weighed the risks and wants sterilisation because you have to deal with the real world

If the NHS actually cares about body autonomy and reducing abuse of guidelines, then following this suggestion would solve all problems in the NHS on the topic of sterilisation.

The current guidelines are not up to a standard that gives everyone a legitimate chance to request sterilisation, in my opinion due to health professionals being given too much power based on assumptions and not following science which leads to abuse, in my opinion. The best solution is to have everything as legal consent forms outlining that you agree to the risk and you understand the science and not allow health professionals the ability to deny you sterilisation unless the procedure would actually risk your life. Ted talk to give context to why it is flawed along with other logical reasoning why it leads to abuse.

https://www.ted.com/talks/christen_reighter_i_don_t_want_children_stop_telling_me_i_ll_change_my_mind/up-next?language=en

-Legal age is 18 years old therefore if the patient is 18 or above then they cannot be denied based on age. This is backed up by the General Medical Council (GMC) saying medical professionals have to work within the law and there is no clearly defined age restriction on sterilisation thus if the patient is of legal age, they are not too young. Denying someone on age is illogical for example, if you denied a physical and mentally aged 40-year-old the ability to buy alcohol, drive a car, work to earn money, get married etc… by saying they are too young even though the legal age is 18 years old then your way of thinking is flawed and abusive because according to the law they can buy alcohol and do other things. So, denying someone sterilisation based on age is flawed and leads to abuse plain and simple, in my opinion.

-The point of sterilisation is for those who do not want children or have any more children therefore the medical professional cannot deny on the basis that the patient has no children as that contradicts the point of sterilisation which means this is a flawed way of thinking which leads to abuse by denying someone sterilisation on the basis that they have no children in my opinion.

-As shown at the beginning of this post we know that regret is subjective therefore it is illogical and abusive for a health professional to deny based on regret as they are not the patient therefore cannot assume the patient might/will regret getting sterilised, in my opinion.

The first consent form should be for the health professional to legally bind them to only use evidence-based reasoning and cannot use the line, not in your best interests unless it is an actual medical reason like the example said in the previous paragraph. Outlined below is what needs to be included in the consent form.

-Health professional agreeing to use evidence-based reasoning and not their own personal opinion.

-Legal age is 18 therefore health professional cannot deny on the basis of age if the patient is 18 or older.

-The point of sterilisation is for those who do not want children or have any more children therefore the medical professional cannot deny on the basis that the patient has no children as that contradicts the point of sterilisation.

-The health professional cannot deny the patient wanting sterilisation on the basis of regret as the health professional is not the patient and therefore cannot assume the patient might regret it.

The second consent form is for the patient who is requesting sterilisation. After the patient has had a discussion with a health professional then they will sign this consent form agreeing to what was discussed and that they want to proceed. Outlined below is what I believe needs to be included in the consent form:

-Patient agreeing that they have researched sterilisation and understand the risks involved and the possibility that they might regret it.

-Agreeing that the patient cannot turn around and try and sue the health professionals as they have signed a consent form to say that their own actions are their own choice and if they regret it in the future, they the patient has to deal with the consequences.

-Agreeing to wait a month before they can get the procedure as time to reflect and be certain of their decision and the consequences.

The third consent form is for the patient for on the day of the procedure to again agree to them understanding the risk and that they want to continue with the procedure. Outlined below is what I believe needs to be included in the consent form:

-Agreeing to the same things as the patients first consent form

-Agreeing that they have taken a month to reflect and think about their decision.

-Agreeing to go forward to getting sterilised.

-Agreeing that they cannot sue the health professional for doing the procedure if they regret it as outlined in the first consent form.

Following this suggestion is the best for medical professionals and for patients because it does not baby patients. This suggestion also means patient body autonomy does not get taken away from them because ultimately, it is their body and life therefore it is their choice. To also add not everyone can afford getting it done privately so by not following this solution can result in patients getting denied, then having a baby they did not want along with the possibility of death if there are any complications in pregnancy of the mother and child.

Please remember to follow logic, morals, and ethics because in my opinion most of the guidelines read as if they are giving an excuse to deny patients sterilisation out of fear of litigation instead of what is actually the best thing for the patients.

On a subject like this a medical professional can never know for sure what is right for the patient therefore they have to listen to the patient and take the patients word that they are wanting to be sterilised.