§ Dr. McDonaldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his policy towards the insistence of many doctors on the written consent of the husband before performing an operation for a non-therapeutic sterilisation on the wife.
§ Mr. MoyleThere is no legal requirement that a husband must give his consent to a non-therapeutic sterilisation of his wife, but my Department has advised health authorities that it endorses the advice given to its members by the Medical Defence Union that the husband's agreement should be obtained if the couple are living together. The agreement of the wife should be similarly sought when the husband seeks to undergo a bilateral vasectomy. Legal considerations apart, such agreement helps to ensure that both partners fully share decisions on the methods of family planning they adopt and reduces the risk of subsequent regret by either partner.