Unethical female stereotyping in reproductive health

Abstract

Stereotypes are generalized preconceptions defining individuals by group categories into which they are placed. Women have become stereotyped as homemakers and mothers, with the negative effect of precluding them from other roles and functions. Legislation and judicial constructions show a history, and often a continuing practice, of confining women to these stereotypical functions. In access to reproductive and sexual health care, for instance, women's requests have been professionally subject to approval of their husbands, fathers or comparable males. Choice of abortion is particularly significant, because it embeds moral values. Women's capacity to act as responsible moral agents is denied by stereotypical attitudes shown by legislators, judges, heads of religious denominations, and healthcare providers who consider women incapable of exercising responsible moral choice. These attitudes violate ethical requirements of treating patients with respect and equal justice. They can also result in violations of human rights laws that prohibit discrimination against women.

Obstetric violence: a new framework for identifying challenges to maternal healthcare in Argentina

“…Ignoring women's individuality by standardizing their needs and preferences, this healthcare culture consequently behaves unethically by eliminating women's understanding and decision making over the care they receive. 53 In order to alter this paradigm, policies have recommended that healthcare facilities shift the culture of maternal care provision to a model providing individualized care, and concurrently addressing women's physiological, emotional, and cultural needs. 54 Gender stereotyping by health personnel in the provision of maternal healthcare disproportionately impacts women by treating them as vulnerable individuals, incapable of controlling their own bodies or understanding their own experiences.…”

“It's a touchy subject”: Latino adolescent sexual risk behaviors in the school context

“…These staff depended on adolescents to interpret cultural norms and practices and admitted to limitations in their own cultural understanding. Stereotypes offer a superficial understanding of adolescent behavior in the absence of specific knowledge (Cook, Cusack, & Dickens, 2010). Moreover, these findings may explain in part the apparent lack of responsiveness other investigators (Garcia & Duckett, 2009; Villalba, 2007) have found in the public school to the health needs of Latino adolescents.…”

Mandatory waiting periods and biased abortion counseling in Central and Eastern Europe

“…The retrogressive introduction of mandatory waiting periods and biased counseling and information requirements in CEE jurisdictions not only has practical repercussions for women's access to legal abortion services, but their introduction into law and policy also promotes harmful gender stereotypes and discriminatory assumptions about women's capabilities and behavior. For example, mandatory waiting periods and counseling requirements reflect common assumptions: that women are innately emotional and reactive; that they are less capable than men of rational thought, considered decision‐making, or responsible moral choice; and that they always need assistance when taking important decisions to “protect” them from their own impulsive and emotional reactions . They also reflect the view that the primary role of women in society is as mothers, and the related assumption that women are by their nature maternal.…”