Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2000
Journal Title
Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics
ISSN
1748-720X
Abstract
Since the United States Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade, the line of viability for human fetuses has been consistently pushed back to earlier and earlier gestational ages. Granting "person" status to a nonviable fetus, even if only for purposes of the wrongful death statute, as the Oklahoma Supreme Court did in Nealis v. Baird, represents an important expansion of fetal rights. Although the court explicitly limited its decision to nonviable fetuses born alive, Judge Opala conceded that much of his opinion could apply equally to stillborn fetuses. The court's decision in Nealis raises important questions about the limits of a nonviable fetus's rights under the law and, consequently, the limits of tort liability, particularly for physicians.
First Page
88
Last Page
105
Volume Number
28
Issue Number
1
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Recommended Citation
Fatma Marouf,
Wrongful Death: Oklahoma Supreme Court Replaces Viability Standard with "Live Birth" Standard,
28
J. L. Med. & Ethics
88
(2000).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/754