The Cartwright Inquiry was a Committee of Inquiry held in New Zealand in 1988. It was commissioned by the then Minister of Health, Michael Bassett to investigate the alleged malpractice of Associate Professor Herb Green, a gynaecology and obstetrics specialist. The inquiry was headed by High Court Justice Dame Silvia Cartwright, later Governor-General of New Zealand. The inquiry was set up to examine whether or not Herb Green had been illegally experimenting on his patients without their consent. A study had been conducted between 1966 and 1987 in which the cases of women with major cervical abnormalities were followed without definitive treatment. The media used the term "unfortunate experiment" extensively after Green's practices were first exposed in an article by Phillida Bunkle and Sandra Coney entitled "An Unfortunate Experiment" in Metro Magazine in June 1988. Herb Green was previously known for publishing a book about gynaecology and obstetrics, called An Introduction to Gynaecology and Obstetrics, which underwent several revisions. Herb Green never eventually stood trial over his alleged actions, as he was declared mentally and physically unfit before he could be tried. Furthermore, he had retired long before Bunkle and Coney's article was published. The inquiry was more about whether or not his credibility could be maintained in retirement. The inquiry proved divisive in New Zealand. On one hand, many feminists were irritated by the supposed arrogance of the WASP male-dominated state of the medical profession and viewed the inquiry as being vital to restoring a balance. On the other hand, some New Zealanders feel it has served to make the position of other white male doctors difficult. Also, many New Zealanders feel that there were instances of impropriety in the inquiry. For instance, once of the main prosecution witnesses secretly made a tape recording of a conversation with Professor Green and his wife. This evidence was crucial in indicting Professor Green, but Silvia Cartwright did not allow the witness to be cross-examined in court.
Further reading
- Coney, Sandra (Ed.) 1993 Unfinished Business: What happened to the Cartwright Report? Women's Health Action Trust, ISBN 0-473-02018-1
