TITLE:
Maternal Fetal Conflict from Legal Point of View Comparing Health Law in the United States and Islamic Law
AUTHORS:
Rahma Aburas, Mary Devereaux
KEYWORDS:
Maternal-Fetal Conflict
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.7 No.8,
August
2,
2017
ABSTRACT: Objectives and Methodology: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate
how maternal and fetal interests can sometimes be conflicting, and a situation
can place care providers in a difficult position when it comes to decisionmaking.
The study also intends to cover the health laws that deal with such
situations in the legal systems of the United States and Islamic Law. This study
takes the form of a critical literature review. The literature search was conducted
using electronic citation databases that included Pub Med, Medline,
Google Scholar, and others. The keywords used in this research related to
medical and legal terms concerned with fetal rights, such as embryo, fetus,
abortion, fetal rights, health law in the United States, Islamic health law, and
comparative studies. The search was conducted in English as well as Arabic.
Data were collected from books, journals, government documents, and Internet
websites. Results: Doctors sometimes have to make difficult decisions
when caring for pregnant women, since one person’s care directly affects another’s.
The fetus depends fully on its mother for survival in the uterus. Nevertheless,
at times it so happens that the interests of the mother and fetus differ.
In such cases, a conflict between the two arises. Due to advances in technology
in the medical field, doctors can now specifically target the fetus during medical
procedures. When treating two different patients, health practitioners must
choose that which is best for each patient independently. Approach to the maternal-fetal conflict must consider medical concerns, as well as legal ones.
While there is some consistency in the medical approach between different
countries, the legal part varies considerably, even among different states in
America, as fetal legal status, personhood, and rights differ greatly. Islamic
Law is practiced in many countries and has a special consideration for the fetus that is worth attention and understanding. Conclusion: Medically, when
the interests of the mother and the fetus are in opposition, a maternal-fetal
conflict arises. The two main forms are harmful maternal behavior to the fetus
and maternal refusal to undergo specific procedures to improve the health
condition of the fetus. Different states in the US have different health laws to
deal with some aspects of maternal fetal conflicts, but on many occasions, no
explicit rules can be found and healthcare workers need to use their own
judgment. In Islamic Law, both conditions (i.e. , harmful maternal behavior or
refusal to employ lifesaving procedures for the fetus) follow the general jurisprudence
rule (damage needs to be removed), and the mother will be legally
accountable if her actions result in fetal damage or death.