234269 Mother-to-child transmission of HIV: Intersecting medical and legal rights of pregnant women living with HIV

Wednesday, November 10, 2010 : 8:50 AM - 9:10 AM

Lisa Pratt, BS, JD , David A. Clarke School of Law, University of the District of Columbia, Springfield, VA
     
Background: Programs to address mother-to-child transmission must consider the intersecting medical, ethical, and legal issues that can arise for HIV-positive women who are pregnant. Pregnant, HIV-positive women face stigma and discrimination in medical treatment. Treating them as active partners in their own treatment has a strong legal basis and an increased public health benefit.

Methods: Literature review on the rights of pregnant women living with HIV, review of pertinent legal cases and a case study of one HIV positive mother's experience in the abuse and neglect system after vertical transmission of HIV.

Conclusion: Due to the fact that HIV can be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy and birth, women with HIV are confronted with complicated health decisions. While advances in antiretroviral treatment have significantly reduced mother-to-child transmission rates, women living with HIV must consider a host of issues when determining the best course of treatment for their health and the health of their child. Throughout this process, pregnant women with HIV maintain the fundamental right to make informed medical decisions without coercion, including the right to refuse treatment or medication.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Ethics, professional and legal requirements
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the legal rights of pregnant, HIV-positive women. 2. Discuss the affect stigma and discrimination have on the treatment of pregnant women living with HIV.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an attorney who represented an HIV-positive mother in the neglect and abuse system.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 5026.2: Reproductive justice as social justice