Judgment, 11 October 1988.

The Supreme Court of France reversed a lower court ruling dismissing the suit of a woman who sought damages resulting from an unauthorized tubal ligation. The ligation had been performed without her consent following a Cesarean Section. The physician contended that, if he had sought her consent prior to the operation, it would have been unreasonable for her to refuse given the risk of a ruptured uterus if she became pregnant again. The Court held that a physician may not operate on a patient without that patient's free and informed consent except in cases of evident necessity or immediate danger. It concluded that neither of these existed here.