Wendy Savage
Encyclopedia
Professor Wendy Savage is a British
gynaecologist, and advocate and campaigner of women's rights in childbirth and fertility.
Dr Savage read medicine at Girton College, Cambridge. She qualified in 1960 and was the first woman consultant to be appointed in obstetrics and gynaecology at The London Hospital. She has worked in the United States of America, Nigeria, Kenya, and New Zealand. In New Zealand she set up an abortion
service before the law was liberalised. She was an elected member of the General Medical Council
for more than 16 years. She was shortlisted for the BMJ Group Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.
In 1985, she was accused of incompetence by the professor in her department and suspended from her post at the London Hospital Medical College, but she was cleared of all charges and reinstated in 1986 following a high-profile enquiry. A British Medical Journal
editorial concluded that a clash of personalities had led to the charges against Dr Savage: "Mrs Savage's strongly held and voiced opinions on women's rights to a say in their method of delivery and in their rights to abortion made her a public and at times controversial figure; rumours of other sources of conflict with her colleagues have ranged from style of dress to private practice." Savage herself wrote about her experiences.. Her later book, Birth and Power, revisits the issues which her suspension raised. She is co-chair of the pressure group KONP (Keep Our NHS Public).
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
gynaecologist, and advocate and campaigner of women's rights in childbirth and fertility.
Dr Savage read medicine at Girton College, Cambridge. She qualified in 1960 and was the first woman consultant to be appointed in obstetrics and gynaecology at The London Hospital. She has worked in the United States of America, Nigeria, Kenya, and New Zealand. In New Zealand she set up an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
service before the law was liberalised. She was an elected member of the General Medical Council
General Medical Council
The General Medical Council registers and regulates doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It has the power to revoke or restrict a doctor's registration if it deems them unfit to practise...
for more than 16 years. She was shortlisted for the BMJ Group Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.
In 1985, she was accused of incompetence by the professor in her department and suspended from her post at the London Hospital Medical College, but she was cleared of all charges and reinstated in 1986 following a high-profile enquiry. A British Medical Journal
British Medical Journal
BMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
editorial concluded that a clash of personalities had led to the charges against Dr Savage: "Mrs Savage's strongly held and voiced opinions on women's rights to a say in their method of delivery and in their rights to abortion made her a public and at times controversial figure; rumours of other sources of conflict with her colleagues have ranged from style of dress to private practice." Savage herself wrote about her experiences.. Her later book, Birth and Power, revisits the issues which her suspension raised. She is co-chair of the pressure group KONP (Keep Our NHS Public).
Selected publications
- A Savage Enquiry, Virago, 1986 ISBN 0-86068-859-3
- Birth and Power: A Savage Enquiry Revisited, Middlesex University Press, 2007 ISBN 978-1904750581