Except for certain fertility treatments, the patient has sole authority to make
the decisions about her care. Paternalism in obstetric care is legally
dangerous. An obstetrician who tells a patient not to worry because everything
will be fine is making a guarantee on the outcome of a pregnancy with almost no
ability to influence that outcome. Consent is a simple problem made complicated
by misinformation. A pregnant woman is the only person who may consent to her
medical care. This is always true for adults, and in most states a pregnant
minor has the right to consent to her medical care. Neither husbands, lovers,
prospective grandparents, prospective adoptive parents, nor adoption agencies
have a right to consent to, or interfere in, the medical care of the pregnant
woman. Any discussion of the woman's medical care with such third parties is a
violation of the patient's rights unless she has given her explicit permission.
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