Re: Wrongful Death Suit Allowed Over Embryo
From: art fougner, md (evsono@pipeline.com)
Tue Feb 22 05:58:49 2005
Joe
you don't think the personal philosophy, metaphysics or bias of the
justice has any influence over the decision?
art
At Sun, 20 Feb 2005, DoctorJoe@aol.com wrote:
>
>In a message dated 2/20/05 12:32:12 PM, dean@thehuffpeople.net writes:
>
>> Chicago judge has ruled that a husband and wife will be allowed to proceed
>> with a wrongful death suit against a fertility clinic that allegedly
>> inadvertently discarded their fertilized egg. Lawyers say courts have
>> previously considered cases involving embryos to be property rights or
>> negligence claims, but a wrongful death action presents a new frontier that
>> could affect abortion law, stem cell research, genetic testing and a wide
>> range
>> of other
>>
>Remember that the LAW doesn't look at the situation the same way SCIENCE
>does.
>
>Scientifically, we look at the embryo or the egg or the adult or the child or
>the fetus as an entity with some characteristics, diseases, available
>therapies, potentials, etc.
>
>Legally, the courts look at all of the above as either (1) property (i.e. you
>"own" your eggs that you've had retrieved and stuck in the REI's lab
>somewhere) or (2) persons (i.e. a legal "person" has rights, responsibilities, and the
>capacity to sue or be sued, etc.).
>
>So the scientific argument regarding when a "human" becomes a human (at
>conception, at implantation, etc.) isn't the same as the legal argument regarding
>when (somewhere between conception and death) a human being becomes a legal
>"person" able to sue others, have liabilities and rights, etc. Depending upon
>WHERE (in time) the court answers that question, that will determine the course
>of the legal argument.
>
>Joe P.
--
art fougner, md
"If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else."
Lawrence Peter Berra
