Some thoughts (here, here & here) on the recent case of Miss B, a woman in her 30s with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder who was sectioned to prevent her from exercising her reproductive health choices. She had to go to court and reveal the most personal details of her psychiatric and gynaecological health, as well as her sexual history, in order to be able to do so. In the end, just a few days before the legal time limit for abortion, the judge in the case came down very clearly on the side of mental capacity.
It’s all set out in the tweets (including conversations with a psychiatrist and a Mental Capacity Act trainer, as well as a woman of reproductive age with a bipolar diagnosis). I may put it into written form but here it is for now. It’s something that I and a lot of women of reproductive age feel strongly about.
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My Storify stories:
- Mental capacity, mental illness & pregnancy – part 1 (twitter discussion of the case) (21st May)
- Mental capacity,mental illness & pregnancy – part 2 (conversation with consultant psychiatrist Judith Lewis) (29th May)
- Mental capacity, mental illness & pregnancy – part 3 (conversation with Mental Capacity Act trainer Matt Graham) (30th May)
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Legal links:
- The Court of Protection judgment in Re SB (A patient; capacity to consent to termination) [2013] EWHC 1417 (COP) 21 May 2013 – the judge’s comments in full (21st May)
- Mental Capacity Act 2005
- UK Human Rights blog – Bipolar patient has capacity to decide to terminate pregnancy (24th May)
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Commentary:
- The Fementalists blog – The bipolar and abortion case (22nd May)
- Purple Persuasion blog (Charlotte Walker) – The Court of Protection, motherhood and mental health (29th May)
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Media:
- BBC news – Bipolar disorder woman in legal battle over abortion (21st May)
- BBC Radio 4 – All in the Mind – “Could what seems like a very unusual case have implications for anyone with a mental health problem when it comes to what they can and can’t decide for themselves?” (12th June)
- BMJ (British Medical Journal) – Woman with bipolar disorder can abort her baby, judge rules (24th May)
- Daily Mail – Bipolar patient who is 23 weeks pregnant CAN have an abortion as she is capable of making the decision herself, rules High Court judge (22nd May)
- Huffington Post – Pregnant Woman With Bipolar Disorder ‘Begs Court To Allow Her To Have An Abortion After Ceasing Medication’ (21st May)
- Independent newspaper – Bipolar woman wins High Court battle for right to have abortion (21st May)
- Telegraph newspaper – Woman with severe mental disorder given right to have abortion by judge (21st May)
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Sectioned 
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