A pregnant mother-of-two has called on the Australian Government to intervene, after having her request to undergo sterilisation denied by a number of hospitals.
Holly Maitland, from Queensland, has launched a Change.org petition asking for women throughout to country to be ‘allowed to make decisions regarding their health, for themselves’.
The move comes after Holly, who is 22 years old and pregnant with her third child, saw her request for tubal ligation rejected.
Tubal ligation is considered a ‘permanent’ form of sterilisation, whereby the fallopian tubes are either severed, blocked or tied.
While Holly is keen for her current pregnancy to be her last, those health specialists she has consulted about the procedure have refused to perform it on the grounds that she is ‘too young’.
It’s important to note that while Holly’s own doctor supports her decision, there is also no minimum age requirement to undergo the procedure in her country.
According to ABC News, specialists have also refused to perform a vasectomy on her 30-year-old husband, also on account of his wife’s age.
“We’re both consenting adults, why are we not being listened to? Why are our choices in the hands of someone else?” writes Holly, in her petition speech.
Calling on the Federal Government to intervene on her behalf, she adds: “Our medical decisions are in the hands of people we don't know. I may regret the decision to have a tubal ligation but that's something I know may happen and I'm willing to go with it.”
The latest report claims that a representative from Queensland Health is set to meet with Holly for a ‘second opinion’.
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