The Implementation of the Right to Equality in the Care of a Vulnerable Medical Population: Pregnant and Postpartum Lesbians

Abstract

Medical equality is a basic right for patients, and awareness of the need for friendly medical care is increasing alongside international trends of promoting gender equality. Whether clinical professionals are sufficiently enabled and motivated to maintain justice and protect their patients, especially those from vulnerable populations, is an issue that deserves greater attention. We examined the situation of pregnant and postpartum lesbian woman to assess the ethical abilities of clinical professionals. We reflect on whether these patients received appropriate medical care and treatment from the perspective of medical equality. To date, nursing education has placed significantly greater emphasis on protecting the autonomy of patients and on ethical decision-making abilities than on instituting medical equality. In clinical practice, the ethical responses of clinical professionals to equality directly impact vulnerable populations. How clinicians collect clinical data and judge individual cases may cause patients to feel neglected. To carry out friendly medical care effectively, steps must be taken to improve the quality of care. As clinical professionals provide medical treatment, they should be more empathetic toward lesbian postpartum women, maintain an attitude of equality, and refrain from judging the sexual tendencies of individual cases, and protect the privacy of their patients. Regarding the special needs of vulnerable populations, clinical professionals should continue learning and spending time reflecting on methods to improve quality of care.