MS Supreme Court Expands Wrongful Death Law to Cover Fetuses

[northzax]

AP.

JACKSON, Miss. — The Mississippi Supreme Court, in a decision criticized by one of its members as an assault on Roe v. Wade (search), held Thursday that an unborn fetus is a "person" under state law and wrongful death claims can be filed on its behalf.

The justices upheld a Bolivar County woman's right to pursue a wrongful death claim (search) after she alleged emotional distress and a mistake by her doctors caused her to have a miscarriage (search). The fetus was 19 weeks old at the time.

Put on your bullshit gloves and read the rest at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,95383,00.html

now I have a question. Does this mean that the state can imprison someone for smoking while pregnant? if my wife (not that I have one, but anyway) has a miscarriage that I blame on her diet, I can now sue her, right?

[xchrom]

1. open the barn door

to endless possibilities like those you mentioned.
a fetus is a fetus not a person -- and there are endless reasons for that line in the sand.
a car accident and a preganant woman loses her baby -- does she sue now for the life of the fetus -- what does this do to insurance rates?

[Malva Zebrina]

2. This is how the fundies will be able to destroy a woman's right to choose

They have quite successfully convinced wishy washy women that a fetus, a blob of four cells, is a fully formed human being with a "soul" and that anyone who says otherwise, or believes otherwise, such as that it is merely a slimy cluster of cells, is guilty of some sort of moral crime.

A woman has a right to abort a group of cells that is a parasite on her body. She has the right to determine the size of her family, and the consequences, economic and well as physical stress upon her own body, of carrying through a pregnancy. The era of forced pregnancy has already been gone--forced pregnancies, as those who would force a woman under threat of incarceration, or worse, accsations of murder, is nothing more than a continued attempt to keep women in "their place"--they WILL have the pregnancies that the reilgious force them to have.

[alarimer]

3. malpractice

Sounds more like a case for malpractice

[Bake]

6. That's exactly what this case is

Malpractice just means professional negligence, in this case by her doctor. The question is, for what injuries may she recover damages? She's claiming (a) injuries to her, both physical and emotional, and (b) injuries to her unborn fetus (hence, wrongful death); all of which resulted from the doctor's negligence. The MS Supreme Court has opened up a whole big ol' can o' worms on this one.

Somebody murders a pregnant woman -- how many counts of murder? One or two? Think Laci Peterson.

A woman voluntarily gets an abortion, although the putative father disagrees with the action. Can HE bring an action for wrongful death of the fetus?

You also have to remember that in most states, MS included, a wrongful death action is a statutory creation, so the question is, how does the Court's ruling mesh (or not) with the statute that creates an action for wrongful death. I haven't looked it up yet.

It gets complicated. Very complicated. This is one that the US Supreme Court SHOULD ultimately decide, but whether they will is anybody's guess at this point.

Bake, Esq.

[tom_paine]

4. Looks like the Confederate Broederbund is gettin' antsy

None of this bodes well for after 2004, if the Emperor is re-appointed...

[0007]

5. This is a sallow shallow argument

.....the freepers sez it has a heart beat so it must be a person. LOL!!