The Taoiseach Brian Cowen was today urged to dismiss health minister Mary Harney from Cabinet over her refusal to set up an inquiry into why symphysiotomies were performed on hundreds of Irish women up to the 1980s.
The "brutal" surgical procedure to permanently widen the pelvis by sawing it in two was performed on nearly 1,500 women as they gave birth, leaving many of them in pain and incontinent all their lives. Many were not asked for their consent or told what was going to happen to them before being held down for the procedure.
Survivors of Symphysiotomy (SOS), the support group for women who underwent the procedure, say claims that the procedure was accepted practice in emergency situations between the 1950s and 1980s are a myth.
They say it had largely been replaced by Caesarean section in the developed world, except in Ireland, at that time.
A promised review of the practice by former health minister Micheál Martin in 2003 never took place as there was no agreement on who would conduct the review.
Since then Ms Harney has, according to SOS, been "stonewalling" their attempts to have an inquiry established. The all part Oireachtas health committee wrote to her seeking a review last year and gave her the names of four people who could possibly undertake such a review, to no avail.
The SOS group feel what happened to them amounted to abuse and that Ms Harney is allowing it to be covered up by not holding an inquiry, and therefore should resign or be dismissed from Cabinet.
Kathleen Naughton from Duleek, Co Meath, who underwent the procedure at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, in 1977 told a press conference in Dublin this morning: "If Minister Harney was in my body even for one day we would have the review the next day".
Colm MacGeehin, solicitor for the women, said what happened his clients was one of the worst medical scandals in Irish history. Claims by the Government, he said, that symphysiotomy was a necessary operation in its day and that few complications resulted were a lie.
It was used, he claimed, to ensure women could continue to have several children whereas a Caesarean section would limit the number of children they could bear.
The women cannot take an action for damages unless the statute of limitations is set aside, he added.
Furthermore he said claims that the women have been provided with adequate support services is untrue.
The Department of Health said today that Ms Harney has concluded, based on full consideration of all the facts and on the advice available to her, including that of the chief medical officer that it would not be productive now to initiate a review.
"The purpose of conducting a review of health policy or medical practice is primarily to examine past events so as to improve care for patients. In the case of symphysiotomy, the practice is now extremely rare in Ireland, having been superseded by Caesarean section since the early 1980s," it said.
It added that the HSE will continue to monitor and oversee the provision of necessary support services for women who underwent the symphysiotomy procedure.