Misleading Statements About “Life of the Mother” Exceptions in Pro-life Laws Require Correction

pregnant-hospital-bed

Mary Harmed, J.D., and Ingrid Skop, M.D., in this article, correct misleading statements in a recent Obstetrics & Gynecology article. No state has an abortion law that is a total ban on abortion. Every state law permits abortion when necessary to save a mother’s life. Texas law does not require an “imminent” risk and allows a doctor to use his “reasonable medical judgment” to determine if an abortion is necessary to prevent a “risk” of maternal death. Similarly, Idaho allows a doctor to use his “good faith medical judgment” to determine when to intervene, without need for “immediacy.”

In Vitro Fertilization, State Wrongful Death Statutes, and State Fetal Homicide Statutes: The Reaction to LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine

In Vitro Fertilization

In this article, Paul Benjamin Linton, Esq., examines the implications of the Alabama Supreme Court decision in LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, which held that the parents of human embryos that were negligently destroyed at a fertility clinic could bring an action for damages under the State’s wrongful death statute. Although the Alabama legislature promptly enacted a law essentially overturning the state supreme court’s decision, concerns have been raised that the court’s decision might influence courts in other States to interpret their wrongful death statutes, or possibly even their fetal homicide statutes, to apply in similar circumstances, thereby threatening the availability of in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology. This article addresses those concerns.

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