The speculum bites back: feminists spark an inquiry into the treatment of carcinoma in situ at Auckland's National Women's Hospital.

Synopsis – Feminist health activists Sandra Coney and Phillida Bunkle researched and exposed an experiment carried out by Professor Herbert Green at National Women’s Hospital (NWH), Auckland New Zealand, involving inadequate treatment of women with carcinoma in situ. Green believed that CIS was not a precursor to invasive cancer. A public inquiry vindicated the claims of Coney and Bunkle and showed the inadequacy of many treatment and research procedures at NWH. It also demonstrated the widespread effect of Green’s opposition to a national cervical screening programme in the face of international evidence that screening reduces the incidence of cervical cancer. Three publications that followed the Inquiry, show how medical power was demonstrated in the events and attitudes exposed.