Between a Woman and Her Doctor:
Prescriptions for Sex and Childbirth in the Twentieth Century
Presented by
Dr. Carolyn Herbst Lewis
Thursday, March 26th, 2015
4:30 to 6 pm @ BLB Room 270
“Since 1973, the assertion that some decisions are best left to “a woman and her doctor” has become, to some, the definitive measure of reproductive choice. This notion, however, does not question the balance of power in the doctor-patient rela-tionship, or the factors that have shaped women’s ability to make choices about their medical care, particularly in regards to issues of sexuality and childbirth. Indeed, so often in the twentieth century, mainstream medical standards for wom-en’s sexual health and birthing experiences positioned doctors as authoritarians, not allies, in women’s attempts to make their own health care choices and shape their own medical ex-periences. What might this suggest about how we need to re-frame our discussions of medical choice today?”
Book signing to follow presentation.