I thought this story fit well with our discussion on the role of bodies and body image and is also an interesting twist to the general topic of a woman’s right to make decisions in regard to reproductive choices. In Hungary, it is currently illegal for women to be attended by a medical professional should they choose to give birth at home. Medical professionals who do so risk going to jail. It seems like an odd law (the video goes through a number of probable reasons for its continued existence) and once again suggests that women should not be entrusted with the control of their own bodies. One of the main arguments given by the authorities and the press is that “hospitals are the only safe places to give birth.” I wondered what Lucy might have to say, seeing as she’s “witnessed” the survival of the human race despite the fact that people have been born at home up until very recently in human history. Obviously, the advent of modern medicine, including hospital facilities, has much decreased infant mortality rates; however, the Hungarian women who are facilitating the homebirths are medical professionals and bring that expertise to the bedside, whether in a hospital or in a house. Many of these women have worked in the hospitals and, frustrated with the lack of control that women were allowed concerning the birth of their children, decided to pursue methods that they feel give that control back to the mother.
Why do you think the government has such a strong interest in restricting women from having homebirths? Is this a residual effect of communism (state vs. individual)?
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