Mother v Fetus: who wins?

Authors

Helen Newnham, Edith Cowan University

Document Type

Journal Article

Faculty

Faculty of Computing, Health and Science

School

School of Nursing and Public Health

RAS ID

2009

Comments

Newnham, H. (2003). Mother v fetus: who wins?. Australian Midwifery, 16(1), 23-26. Available here

Abstract

This article examines the right of pregnant women to determine what will happen to their own bodies and whether their right to autonomy is absolute when refusing treatment which may be consider in their best interests and/or their fetuses'. A theoretical framework is used supported by relevant legal cases to argue that in some instance the rights of women to refuse treatment, most notably caesarean section have been overridden in favour of the fetus. The conclusion from the legal cases is that despite the consequences a woman's rights should not be overridden in favour of the fetus.

DOI

10.1016/S1031-170X(03)80012-0