Portugal’s Supreme Administrative Court is in the spotlight this week after telling a patient whose sex life was ruined by a surgical slip that she is too old for sex to be “important”.
The woman was only 50 when an operation at Lisbon’s Maternidade Alfredo da Costa almost 20 years ago went wrong.
She went on to suffer urinary incontinence, almost constant pain, difficulties in walking and sitting, and was “never again able to have sexual relations with her husband”.
An initial court case found that there had been a medical error, and awarded the woman – who became severely depressed and was never able to resume work – €175,000. But last week’s appeal to Supreme Court judges saw damages reduced by over €60,000.
The panel considered the surgical error had only “aggravated a situation that was in itself painful”, writes Correio da Manhã.
They added that the victim already had two children and that ‘as age advances, the importance of sex diminishes’.
It is a decision highlighted by various newspapers and hugely criticised by online readers.
Said one: “These judges should be accused of immorality and disrespect for human rights”, while another wrote in Diário de Notícias: “It is not by chance that Portugal is one of the most miserable countries in Europe! This is one of the lowest verdicts yet…”
But it would seem to be the last court available for these kinds of cases, and thus the former cleaning lady who had told the court she feels “diminished as a woman” may have no further legal recourse.
