Law Commons^™

Making Pregnancy Work: Overcoming The Pregnancy Discrimination Act's Capacity-Based Model, Joanna L. Grossman, Gillian Thomas

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This article considers the gaps and obstacles in current law faced by the pregnant woman whose job duties may conflict with pregnancy's physical effects. While there is no inherent conflict between pregnancy and work, women in physically strenuous or hazardous occupations, from nursing to law enforcement, routinely confront situations in which they are physically unable to perform aspects of their job or, though physically able, they seek to avoid certain tasks or situations because of the potential risks to maternal or fetal health. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA) broadly protects against "pregnancy discrimination," but it provides absolute rights …

Medical Decision Making During A Surrogate Pregnancy, Thomas Wm. Mayo

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This article is concerned with a tradition of paternalism within the medical and legal professions toward pregnant women, their children, and the medical decisions that pregnant women make affecting both. In most surrogacy contracts, the surrogate mother agrees not to have an abortion and to refrain from certain types of harmful conduct, including the consumption of alcoholic beverages, smoking, and the use of illegal drugs. This article will consider the implications these provisions have for medical decision making during pregnancy, and for the concepts of individual autonomy, informed consent and the developing doctrine of fetal rights.

Considering the nature of …