Do fetal rights limit mothers' rights? (Statestats).The debate over fetal rights The rights of any unborn human fetus, which is generally a developing human from roughly eight weeks after conception to birth. Like other categories such as Civil Rights and Human Rights, fetal rights embraces a complex variety of topics and issues involving a number of is not new to the legislative arena. Every year pro-life and pro-choice advocates vie for the upper hand in this contentious issue. Recent debate focuses on fetuses killed by violent acts against pregnant women. The legal approaches to dealing with such attacks involve either civil action through wrongful death The taking of the life of an individual resulting from the willful or negligent act of another person or persons. If a person is killed because of the wrongful conduct of a person or persons, the decedent's heirs and other beneficiaries may file a wrongful death action laws or by increasing criminal penalties when a crime involves a pregnant woman. Such legal action focuses on the harm done to a pregnant woman and the subsequent loss of her pregnancy, but not on the rights of the fetus fetus, term used to describe the unborn offspring in the uterus of vertebrate animals after the embryonic stage (see embryo). In humans, the fetal stage begins seven to eight weeks after fertilization of the egg, when the embryo assumes the basic shape of the newborn . A more controversial approach to prosecuting an assault on a pregnant woman involves defining the fetus as a person under a fetal homicide or "feticide feticide /fe·ti·cide/ (fet´i-sid) the destruction of the fetus. fe·ti·cide n. Destruction of the embryo or fetus in the uterus. Also called embryoctony. " law. Such legislation is hotly debated under names such as the Fetal Protection Fetal protection legislation in the United States refers to laws designed to grant recognition as a "legal person" to a fetus. Such legislation is controversial because of the debate over abortion rights in the US. Act, the Preborn Victims of Violence Act or the Unborn Victim of Violence Act. Those supporting these acts, often pro-life advocates, say that both the lives of the pregnant woman and the fetus should be explicitly protected. They assert that fetal homicide laws justly criminalize crim·i·nal·ize tr.v. crim·i·nal·ized, crim·i·nal·iz·ing, crim·i·nal·iz·es 1. To impose a criminal penalty on or for; outlaw. 2. To treat as a criminal. these cases and provide an opportunity to protect unborn children and their mothers. Those on the other side fear that laws to protect a fetus could infringe in·fringe v. in·fringed, in·fring·ing, in·fring·es v.tr. 1. To transgress or exceed the limits of; violate: infringe a contract; infringe a patent. 2. on a woman's right to choose an abortion. Pro-choice advocates say such laws grant a fetus legal status distinct from the pregnant woman--possibly creating an adversarial ad·ver·sar·i·al adj. Relating to or characteristic of an adversary; involving antagonistic elements: "the chasm between management and labor in this country, an often needlessly adversarial . . . relationship between a woman and her baby. They are also concerned that the laws could be interpreted to apply to a woman's behavior during her pregnancy (e.g., smoking, drinking or using drugs). They prefer criminalizing an assault on a pregnant woman and recognizing only her as the victim. Under feticide laws, nine states apply the crime to any stage of pregnancy, while others apply it only to later stages. This session, at least 16 legislatures debated fetal homicide. Laws passed in Idaho, Nebraska and Utah. RELATED ARTICLE WRONGFUL DEATH LAW APPLIES TO A FETUS * (CIVIL ACTION) Alabama Arizona Arkansas Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Utah Vermont Washington West Virginia Wisconsin * Laws apply to various stages of fetal development/pregnancy. |
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