Legal status of fetus Flashcards
Definition of live birth, full term birth, preterm birth, miscarriage, still birth
Live birth- a foetus, whatever its gestational age, exits the maternal body & shows signs of life (heartbeat, pulse) for however brief a time & regardless of whether umbilical cord or placenta intact.
Full term- born between 38-42 completed weeks of gestations
Preterm birth- born alive before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy.
Miscarriage- spontaneous loss of pregnancy before 24 weeks of gestation
Stillbirth- born after 24 weeks of pregnancy & did not breath or show other signs of life after expelled from mother
What is the legal status of a fetus?
Fetus does not have legal rights until capable of surviving independently from mother
Therefore, mother’s wishes should be respected regardless of thought process- if has capacity- even if it results in death of unborn child
- can be for religious or other reasons (rational or irrational)- court does not have jurisdiction to declare medical intervention lawful.
Congenital disability act 1976- gives right to handicapped born child to sue in negligence in limited circumstances- mother exempted
What are the 4 articles of Human Rights Act 1998?
- The right to life is protected by the law
- Prohibition of torture (prolonging life)
- Right to private and family life
- Men & women of marriageable age have the right to marry a form a family
—> all of these points do not apply to the fetus
What are the 4 views important in determining the moral status of the embryo?
- Identify foetus as a human organism
- The foetus becomes a human organism at conception- so treated same as any other human
- Therefore, it would be wrong to kill the embryo at any stage of development - The potential to be a person - valuable future of embryo
- By killing the embryo at any stage, you are killing a potential child - Identity as a person
- 24 weeks gestation - can feel pain - before this, not given moral status
- rationality, consciousness, future-directed plans & goals - the value given to the human organism by others is crucial (conferred moral status)
- fetus takes on important social role which gives it moral status vs foetus is not recognised as a member of society so it is acceptable to terminate pregnancy
Under what circumstances is it acceptable to have an abortion?
- Rape
- Not being able to support the child
- Failure of contraception
- The child will have severe disabilities
- If having the child poses a risk to the mother
What is the abortion act? Why was the abortion act mainly brought in?
States that abortion is lawful in the UK if 2 doctors decide the following criterial is met:
- Continuing the pregnancy poses greater risk to the mother’s physical & mental health than if the pregnancy was terminated
- Necessary to prevent grave injury to the mental or physical health of the mother
- Pregnancy has not exceeded the 24th week of gestation
- Continuing the pregnancy poses greater risk to mental & physical health of any existing children of the family of the pregnancy women, than if the pregnancy was terminated
- There is risk of the child having substantial mental or physical abnormalities
Brought in To prevent back street abortions
Under what circumstances is abortion legal on wide grounds?
- Up to 24 weeks gestation abption is legal, w/ the mother’s consent
- Because pregnancy always poses some risk to the mother
- After 24 weeks, abortion is only legal if there is risk of significant harm to the mother or the foetus
When must you register a Childs birth?
must be registered w/in 42 days (6 weeks) of birth in England & Wales.
What is process of registering birth for opposite sex couples? Married & un-married.
If married or in civil partnership at time of birth or conception:
- mother or father can register birth on their own
- Both parents can be included on certificate
If unmarried- details of both parents will be on certificate if:
- they sign birth register together
- there is statutory declaration of parentage or
there is court order giving father parental responsibility
- Mother can choose not to enter father’s detail on certificate
What is process of registering birth for same sex female couples? Married & un-married.
Married/ civil partners
- either can register if child born by donor insemination or fertility treatment
Unmarried:
- Partner seen as second parent if treated together by licensed clinic & made a ‘parenthood agreement’ - but can only be on certificate if meet same requirements as opposite sex unmarried couples.
What is the process of registering birth for same-sex male couples?
Must get a parental order- cannot get this until 6 weeks after birth
Therefore, mother must register
What is definition of parental responsibility?
All the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities & authorities which by law a parent has in relation to child
When child requires treatment, consent required from either child or 1 person w/ parental responsibility
Who has parental responsibility?
Birth mothers automatically have it
Father who is married to child’s mother at time of birth has parental responsibility- not lost if parents later divorce
Who can obtain parental responsibility?
Unmarried fathers do not automatically has PR
can gain by:
- marrying mother
- having their name registered
- making parental responsibility agreement w/ mother
- obtaining parental responsibility order from court
- obtaining residence order from court
- becoming child’s guardian on mother’s death
Adoptive parent will acquire PR on adoption
Do step parents, foster parents, staff, sperm donors, egg donors have parental responsibility?
Step parents- gain PR by obtaining PR order from court
Foster parents- do not have PR- either remains w/ parents or shared between foster parents & local authority
Staff from children’s residential establishments e.g. mental health, boarding schools, specialist units- do not have PR
Sperm donors- if donation through HFEA licensed clinic, then not legal parent of child (not on birth certificate, no rights, no financial obligations).
- If unlicensed clinic, will be legal father of child.
Egg donors- if you give birth, you are legal mother, even w/ donated egg
