A History of the 'Unfortunate Experiment' at National Women's Hospital

In the late 1980s, a national outcry followed the publication of Sandra Coney and Phillida Bunkle's &‘Unfortunate Experiment' article in Metro magazine about the treatment of carcinoma in situ at National Women's Hospital. The article prompted a commission of inquiry led by Judge Silvia Cartwright which indicted the practices of doctors at the hospital and led to lawsuits, censure, a national screening programme and a revolution in doctor&–patient relations in New Zealand. In this carefully researched book, medical historian Dr Linda Bryder provides a detailed analysis of the treatment of carcinoma in situ at National Women's since the 1950s, an assessment of international medical practice and a history of the women's health movement. She tackles a number of key questions. Was treatment at National Women's an &‘unfortunate experiment'? Was it out of line with international norms? Did Herb Green and his colleagues care more for science than for their patients? Did women die as a result? And what were the sources of the scandal that erupted?