Nelson, Anna; orcid: 0000-0003-3686-9333; email: anna.nelson@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk2021-05-202021-05-202021-04-08Feminist Legal Studies, volume 29, issue 1, page 119-131http://hdl.handle.net/10034/624613From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: accepted 2021-02-05, registration 2021-02-06, pub-print 2021-04, pub-electronic 2021-04-08, online 2021-04-08Publication status: PublishedAbstract: In this paper I assess the labour ward admission policies introduced by some National Health Service (NHS) trusts during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that these intersected with other policies in a manner which may have coerced birthing people into consenting to vaginal examinations they might have otherwise refused. In order to fully understand the potential severity of these policies, I situate this critique in the historical and contemporary context of the problematic relationship between consent and vaginal examinations. Identifying the legal wrongs associated with performing coerced vaginal examinations, I highlight that the law is inadequately equipped to provide appropriate redress. Further, I illustrate that the issue explored in this paper reflects broader problems which exist with regard to the focus of, and the (under)investment in, the maternity services.Licence for this article: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/CommentaryAutonomyChoice in childbirthConsentCOVID-19PregnancyVaginal examinationsarticle2021-05-20