Word: fetus
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Courts in the U.S. have recognized that third parties -- for instance, a drunk driver who injures a pregnant woman -- can be sued for doing harm to a fetus. More recent is the notion that expectant mothers can be held criminally responsible for problems suffered by their fetuses. Even pregnant women who are resigned to the legalisms pervading American life might wince to learn that the child forming inside them is also a budding legal entity, possessing rights that may put it at odds with its mother even before it emerges into the world. But the idea has gathered support with...
...reforms he has undertaken as Middlesex County district attorney. While we laud his efforts to curb domestic violence and to increase counseling for criminals, we are appalled by his prosecution of a pregnant woman for homicide who, while driving drunk, got into an accident that destroyed her fetus...
Harshbarger claims that the case has no bearing on abortion rights and on his pro-choice stance. But as the staff position notes, the case has been cited by others to justify the "rights" of a fetus over those of a pregnant woman...
...endorse Harshbarger with one serious reservation, however. As district attorney for Middlesex County, Harshbarger prosecuted a pregnant woman for homicide who, driving drunk, got into an accident which destroyed her fetus. It was a groundbreaking case, one that has already been cited in other contexts to justify turning the "rights" of a fetus against a pregnant woman. The case--if it had been successful--would have set a dangerous precedent that, for example, might be used to justify jailing women who abuse substances during pregnancy...
...cross to bear. The swings into depression are awful, and the highs can be very destructive. Yet a substantial number of highly creative people have suffered from this disease. Suppose we find the gene responsible for manic depression. If every couple has a prenatal test to determine if a fetus is at risk for manic depression, and if every time the answer is yes that fetus is done away with, then we will have done something troubling, something with large consequences. Is this what we want...