These are policies and legal measures set in place for the purpose of protecting the fetus against decision made by an Expecting mothers on issues of medical interventions. The fetus is treated as totally separate entity form the pregnant woman therefore limiting the rights and taking legal actions towards expecting mother on action that has resulted to fetal harm. The legal mechanism to protect the fetus through constriction of the mothers’ thought and decision has violated the women’s legal right to privacy together with the personal integrity.
I. challenges encountered
A .the violation of pregnant women rights
B .the long technically procedures
II. The general opinion
- A summary on the recently tackled legal cases.
- The ethical principles that are established purposely to handle the issues.
- Reviews of the underlying
III. Maternal decision making legal approaches
- The failure to take in consideration pregnant women’s entitlement to integrity and consent
- Recognition of medical knowledge on limitation available to a prediction of possible results in obstetrics
- Victimization of candidate of addictions and psychiatric problems
- Women facing a threat to be dissuade from their duty of parental care
- Creation of an avenue for criminalization of acts associated with legal maternal
IV. Recent cases
- charges of a woman refusing to undergo cesarean delivery – march 2004
V. maternal- fetal relationship approaches
A. informing pregnant women on the importance of medical advice
B. court intervention on case of negligence of duty and ignorance
C. Establishment of a proper manner to address addicts and persons psychiatric illness
References
Smith, (2005). ACOG Committee Opinion #321: Maternal Decision Making, Ethics, And The Law. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 106(5, Part 1), 1127-1137.
