Rethinking the Tubal Ligation Consent Procedure for Federally Insured Women

It's time to reconsider the prerequisites for Medicaid-insured women to obtain permanent sterilization. A medical ethicist and an obstetrician/gynecologist cite two requirements faced by Medicaid-insured but not privately insured women (a 30-day waiting period between signing the consent form and obtaining the procedure, and not allowing consent during labor) that violate the standards of medical ethics, with the potential for significant adverse consequences. In an all-too-common scenario, a federally insured woman receives prenatal care at a community health center where she signs informed consent for postpartum tubal ligation (TL), then delivers at a hospital lacking access to the consent form. Discharged without the permanent contracept…