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?