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10 Harv. Women's L.J. 9 (1987)
Prenatal Invasions & Interventions: What's Wrong with Fetal Rights

handle is hein.journals/hwlj10 and id is 17 raw text is: PRENATAL INVASIONS & INTERVENTIONS: WHAT'S WRONG WITH FETAL RIGHTS JANET GALLAGHER* In 1984, in Chicago, a Nigerian woman expecting triplets was hospitalized for the final period of her pregnancy. The woman and her husband steadfastly reiterated their unwillingness to con- sent to the Caesarean section that doctors regarded as necessary for a safe multiple birth.' As the woman's due date approached, doctors and hospital legal counsel obtained a court order granting the hospital administrator temporary custody of the triplets and authorizing a Caesarean section as soon as the woman went into labor. Although this plan was known to all the residents, it was never presented to the patient. She was not given the opportunity to seek care elsewhere.2 * Assistant Corporation Counsel, New York City Department of Law. (The views expressed in this Article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department); B.A., Manhattanville College, 1967; J.D., Rutgers-Newark, 1982. I am grateful to Sarah Bennett, Rhonda Copelon, Ellen Gruber Garvey, Nancy Savage, Nadine Taub, and Eileen Willenborg for their comments and assistance. This Article was written while I was Director of the Civil Liberties & Public Policy Program at Hampshire College. I appreciate the college's support. I V. Kolder, Women's Health Law: A Feminist Perspective, 1-2 (Aug. 1985) (unpub- lished manuscript) (on file at the HARV. WOMEN'S L.J.). Triplet gestations are associated with higher neonatal morbidity and mortality primarily due to the increased frequency of premature births and other problems including pre-eclampsia, fetal growth retardation, congenital anomalies, placenta previa, cord accidents, malpresentations (any fetal position other than head first), dysfunctional labor and post-partum hemorrhage .... In the studies of triplets that have been published ... some authors ... advocate cesarean section as the method of choice .... Other authors have found no advantage to routine cesarean delivery. V. Kolder, Triplets (Feb. 22, 1987) (unpublished notes) (on file at the HARv. WOMEN'S L.J.) (citations omitted). 2 Kolder, Women's Health Law, supra note 1, at 2.

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