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Toward Guidelines For Compelling Cesarean Surgery: Of Rights, Responsibility And Decisional Authenticity, Joel J. Finer

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

When, if ever, may a pregnant woman be compelled to undergo a cesarean section to save the life of a viable, verge-of-birth fetus? Courts and scholars have increasingly addressed the constitutional and ethical problems presented when a woman about to give birth requires a cesarean section to prevent the death of or severe harm to her fetus, and the woman refuses to have the surgery. Nationally, over a five year period, courts have heard twenty-one cases in which a court-ordered cesarean was being sought. Under what circumstances, if any, is it legally and ethically appropriate to compel a woman to …