Book Review
Misinformed Consent
Women's Stories about Unnecessary Hysterectomy
by Lise Cloutier-Steele
Millions of Unnecessary Hysterectomies:
Old News / Big Business / Ruined Lives
By the age of sixty, about one-third of all North American women have had a hysterectomy, and they
are often encouraged to surrender their ovaries at the same time. Most of these
procedures are elective, agreed to by women whose doctors said that the uterus
and/or the ovaries have no value beyond reproduction, and that the lost
hormones can be replaced artificially. Doctors would not recommend the removal
of a male patient’s testicles once his family was complete, so why do we
continue to subject women to unnecessary castration?
In Misinformed
Consent, by Lise Cloutier-Steele has joined other survivors to speak out
about the prejudices and the traumas that accompanied their hysterectomies. In
combining their moving personal stories, the women of Misinformed Consent hope to:
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enlighten readers with honest accounts on the impact that surgical castration can have on a woman’s sexuality;
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“In
order to ensure that we and our physicians become better informed, this
poignant book begins with a strong demand for change and ends with a
comprehensive list of resources that will help women better protect
themselves.”
-- Jane Pincus
Co-author of Our Bodies, Ourselves for the New Century,
and Co-founder of the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective
Lise Cloutier-Steele
is a communications specialist and a professional writer and editor, who has
herself had a traumatic experience with hysterectomy. She is the author of Living and Learning with a Child Who Stutters and the recipient of the Canada 125 Award in recognition of a significant
contribution to the community for her volunteer efforts to help
the parents of children who stutter. Her
appearances include Canada AM, Women’s Television Network, The Phil
Donahue Show, The Body and Health Show, and several other media to talk about
the important topic of unnecessary hysterectomy in North America.
Misinformed Consent includes
a foreword by Dr. Stanley T. West of
New York, a reproductive medicine specialist, and the author of
The Hysterectomy Hoax. It also includes an overview by Mary Anne Wyatt
(SU member) of Massachusetts, a
researcher in molecular biology and electrochemistry.
Journalists: To arrange for an interview with Lise Cloutier-Steele, Dr. Stanley West, or Mary Anne Wyatt, please contact the publisher at
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Website disclaimer:
Sans-Uteri Hysterectomy Forum, founded by Beth Tiner
October 24, 1996, h