Politics
Friday September 20, 2002
CORONER RULES STILLBORN CHILD NOT A PERSON UNDER THE LAW
Uses that legal reason to refuse an inquest into possible malpractice
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NARACOORTE, Australia, September 20, 2002 (LSN.ca) - A coroner in South Australia has ruled that a stillborn baby is not a person and that his death can therefore not be the subject of an investigation. Assistant Coroner Tony Schapel rejected Theresa Osborne's request for an inquest to determine whether her son, Matthew, died of natural causes or because of an error by Dr. Brian Norcock and staff on July 9, 2000.
A child, said Schapel, "is not a person in the eyes of the law until it is fully extruded from the mother... There can be no doubt that at one point in time, at least as an unborn fetus, Matthew McPhail was a living human entity."
Osborne was admitted to the hospital on July 8, 2000, experiencing the early stages of labour. At the time, she was 39 weeks pregnant with the baby not due for another 10 days. After insisting on a natural birth, Osborne was given the drug Syntocinon to stimulate the process. Later, cardiotocograph readings showed Matthew's heartbeat had fallen from the normal level of 120-160 beats a minute to just 80 beats. He was delivered by forceps, at which time, Mr. Schapel said, "the child exhibited no outward sign of life".
Hospital records showed a brief heartbeat was detected five minutes later -- but further attempts at resuscitation failed, and Matthew was pronounced dead. Schapel said the record of a supposed heartbeat may have been a mistake.
To read more about this story see:
http://www.sundaytimes.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,5126712%255E421,00.h...
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