Open to the public. Pasadena conference will address hysterectomy abuse in the U.S., led by medical and legal experts and a panel of hysterectomized women.
United States of America (Press Release) September 15, 2007 --
In an ongoing survey begun in 1991, 99.7% of women reported that they were not informed of the functions of the female organs or the consequences of their removal prior to hysterectomy, information which is requisite to informed consent. The HERS Foundation’s Twenty-Sixth Hysterectomy Conference will be held in Pasadena, California November 2-3, 2007 and will focus on this rarely-publicized aspect of hysterectomy.
Conference speakers will include Dr. Mitchell Levine, Harvard Medical School; Dr. Jack Schumann, University of Pittsburgh Medical School; Robert Myers, attorney and women’s health advocate; Rick Schweikert, playwright and human rights advocate; Genevieve Carminati, writer and Women’s Studies Program Director; and Nora W. Coffey, prominent women’s health advocate and HERS president. In addition to the featured speakers, panelists will describe their own experiences with doctors, the surgery, and its aftermath.
Of the 621,200 hysterectomies performed on average in the United States over the last ten years, only about 2% were life-saving, and 75% of those women were also castrated at the time of the surgery. Millions of women worldwide have received educational materials and more than 800,000 women have been counseled at HERS throughout the last 25 years. HERS has demonstrated a successful educational model that includes a 12-minute female anatomy lesson, available at www.hersfoundation.org/anatomy. Of the women counseled by HERS, 98% of those who were told they needed a hysterectomy discovered that in fact they did not, and following HERS’ anatomy lesson they chose a less invasive treatment or they discovered that no treatment was needed at all.
The conference will be held Saturday, November 3rd from 9:00am to 6:00pm at the Westin Pasadena. On the eve of the conference, Friday, November 2nd, 7:30pm, there will be a screening of the Off-Broadway premiere of Rick Schweikert’s play, “un becoming,” followed by a talk-back with Schweikert and Coffey. The registration fee is $60. Advance registration is advised due to limited seating. For information contact HERS at hersfdn@earthlink.net or 888-750-4977. The conference agenda and online registration are available at www.hersfoundation.org.
CONTACTS:
Nora W. Coffey
610.667.7757
Rick Schweikert
484.432.8356
Conference speakers will include Dr. Mitchell Levine, Harvard Medical School; Dr. Jack Schumann, University of Pittsburgh Medical School; Robert Myers, attorney and women’s health advocate; Rick Schweikert, playwright and human rights advocate; Genevieve Carminati, writer and Women’s Studies Program Director; and Nora W. Coffey, prominent women’s health advocate and HERS president. In addition to the featured speakers, panelists will describe their own experiences with doctors, the surgery, and its aftermath.
Of the 621,200 hysterectomies performed on average in the United States over the last ten years, only about 2% were life-saving, and 75% of those women were also castrated at the time of the surgery. Millions of women worldwide have received educational materials and more than 800,000 women have been counseled at HERS throughout the last 25 years. HERS has demonstrated a successful educational model that includes a 12-minute female anatomy lesson, available at www.hersfoundation.org/anatomy. Of the women counseled by HERS, 98% of those who were told they needed a hysterectomy discovered that in fact they did not, and following HERS’ anatomy lesson they chose a less invasive treatment or they discovered that no treatment was needed at all.
The conference will be held Saturday, November 3rd from 9:00am to 6:00pm at the Westin Pasadena. On the eve of the conference, Friday, November 2nd, 7:30pm, there will be a screening of the Off-Broadway premiere of Rick Schweikert’s play, “un becoming,” followed by a talk-back with Schweikert and Coffey. The registration fee is $60. Advance registration is advised due to limited seating. For information contact HERS at hersfdn@earthlink.net or 888-750-4977. The conference agenda and online registration are available at www.hersfoundation.org.
CONTACTS:
Nora W. Coffey
610.667.7757
Rick Schweikert
484.432.8356
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