99Between Objectification and Rights Narratives of Obstetric Violence and the Question of Self-determination in Finland

This chapter explores the tension between objectification and selfdeter mination through the lens of an obstetric violence campaign in Finland.It draws on narratives collected in 2019 by the Finnish (MTIC) campaign, which documented women's experiences of obstetric violence.These accounts are analysed as part of activist efforts to define such encounters as violations of self determination.By reframing routine medical practices as harmful, the MTIC cam paign challenges dominant medicalised discourses and ideals of heroic resilience in childbirth.The narratives illustrate how patriarchal structures materialise in objectifying practices that deny birthing individuals agency.Decisions are often made as if the person were absent, undermining both rights and personhood as guaranteed by the Patient's Rights Act.Theoretically, the study combines pheno menological perspectives on shame with Foucauldian analyses of power, offering a framework for understanding how embodied experiences intersect with the ratio nalities of medical care.