pregnant woman who goes to Katutura Antenatal Clinic is provided with antenatal care and as a subsidiary of that antenatal care, family planning is provided when contraception is discussed with patients in groups and in the language of their respective preferences, including sterilisation and alternatives. He replied that patients should or actually need individual counselling. First Plaintiff [33] It is common cause that the first plaintiff gave birth by way of an emergency caesarean section on 13 June 2005 at the Oshakati State Hospital because she was diagnosed with a condition known as cephalic pelvic disproportion (CPD). A sterilisation procedure was performed at the same time on the plaintiff. At the time the procedures were performed the first plaintiff was 26 years old. She had two previous pregnancies and delivered normally though her second child was stillborn. She completed Grade 10. Her home language is Oshiwambo. The first plaintiff tested HIV positive in 2004 when she attended a health facility in Grootfontein. Her first of several antenatal care visits to 16 the clinic was on 5 January 2005. According to her there was no discussion about the concept of sterilisation and its applicability to her. On 9 June 2005 she went to a clinic at Ongwediva for an antenatal care visit where she discovered that she was discharging blood in the waiting room. She was taken to Oshakati State Hospital where she was informed that there was no dilation and was told to come back 4 hours later. On 10 June 2005 at about 20h23 she had pain, not severe and there was dilation. On 11 June 2005 she had contractions and stayed in the vicinity of the hospital in the waiting area. On 12 June 2005 her contractions were severe and she was in pain. On 13 June 2005 she experienced severe pains. She told the hospital personnel that she was unable to walk and was told to lie down. She was then seen by a male doctor who examined her and told her that she cannot deliver because she was very exhausted. The doctor instructed a nurse that plaintiff be taken to the theatre to undergo a caesarean section. The doctor spoke English. A nursing student translated. The doctor did not mention anything about sterilisation to her. She testified that before she could be taken to the theatre a nurse came into the delivery room and told her that she will be sterilised since all women who are HIV positive go through that procedure. The nurse then brought documents for her to sign. She did not know whether the documents were in respect of her consent to undergo the operation or whether it was in respect of consent for sterilisation. She was given these forms when she was on a stretcher just before she went into the theater. The nurse did not explain anything about the procedures she would be undergoing. It is common cause that she signed only one document where she consented to “c/s due to CPD and BTL”. She did not know what caesarean section or the other acronyms on the consent form meant. She testified that the way the nurse conveyed the information to her sounded forceful, and that it was “a compelling thing”. She

Select target paragraph3