SoS to step up campaign in the face of Court of Appeal setback Survivors of Symphysiotomy has expressed grave disappointment at today's judgement by the Court of Appeal on a symphysiotomy carried out on a 24 year old woman. Marie O'Connor, Chairperson of the national advocacy group, Survivors of Symphysiotomy, said: 'today's decision by the Court of Appeal comes as a grave disappointment to the plaintiff, whose rights were so blatantly violated by Master Stuart at the Coombe Hospital in 1963. Survivors of symphysiotomy everywhere feel betrayed'. 'To break the pelvis of a young woman involuntarily, 12 days before the birth of her first baby, in an attempt to enforce vaginal birth was unconscionable. To rule that the use of symphysiotomy could have been justified in Ireland in an era when Caesarean section, a far safer operation, was routine is almost unfathomable. 'To break a woman's pelvis during pregnancy, before labour began, in Dublin in 1963 was an aberration. Our campaign, nationally and internationally, for truth and justice, will now intensify.' Last year, the High Court accepted that the pelvis severing operation had led to lifelong physical and psychological consequences for the plaintiff, but said she had failed to prove her symphysiotomy was “not without justification”. 'This judgement lies four square with the official view - promulgated since 2001 - that the practice of symphysiotomy was acceptable', Ms O'Connor said. 'To suggest, as the Court of Appeal did, that doctors had reason to believe the operation was “relatively benign” is untrue. There was ample evidence from the 1950s in Dublin to show that babies died or were brain damaged following symphysiotomy and that Caesarean section was safer, including for women. Symphysiotomy was discarded as far back as 1798 due to its dangers, which have always been recognised by the medical profession.' At issue in this case was whether doctors could have been justified in carrying out a symphysiotomy in Dublin in 1963, and in proceeding to surgery without permitting the mother a trial of labour. The Chairperson pointed out that symphysiotomy had been practised in Ireland for nearly half a century in preference to Caesarean section. 'The surgery, which was driven by religious fundamentalism and medical ambition, has been widely condemned as abusive. In 2014, the UN Human Rights Committee found that the latter day practice of symphysiotomy in Ireland constituted torture and involuntary medical experimentation.' ENDS For more information, see: http://symphysiotomyireland.com/the-story/ https://www.facebook.com/SoS-Survivors-of-Symphysiotomy-173631906029192/ Marie O'Connor Chairperson Survivors of Symphysiotomy​ ​++ ​353 (0)​ ​86 81 80 254 ​++ 353 (1) 838 8168​