Maternal-fetal relationship. The courts and social policy

An alternative approach to that which emphasizes maternal responsibility is to focus on the social responsibility to provide all pregnant women with access to proper nutrition, counseling, mental health and substance abuse services, and adequate general health care. The problem is heightened by the fact that proponents both of women’s rights and fetal rights often try to optimize their position by insisting that the rights they advocate must be absolute. The courts have played and will continue to play a central role in redefining the maternal-fetal relationship. Advances in medical technology and in knowledge of fetal development are rapidly altering this situation. In addition to increasing social recognition of and empathy for the fetus, innovative diagnostic and therapeutic technologies make prenatal injury cases increasingly similar to more conventional liability or injury torts. In contrast, quadrant IV recognizes a claim to fetal rights and the legitimacy of constraining maternal behavior by limiting the scope of her rights.