SUPREME COURT TO HEAR CHALLENGE TO FETAL RIGHTS

OTTAWA, Dec 7 (LSN)  Tomorrow the Supreme Court of Canada will hear an appeal in the case of a little boy suing his mother for injuries suffered while in the womb. A New Brunswick court originally ruled that Ryan Dobson could sue his mother Cynthia for injuries he incurred when her car crashed into a pickup truck when she was pregnant. In an appeal of the case brought by Ryan’s grandfather Gerald Price, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal upheld the lower court ruling. The rulings followed precedents in civil law dating back as early as 1919 and as recently as 1978; many of the cases involved children in utero injured in car accidents suing their fathers (insurance companies) for damages incurred.  In this case, the mother’s insurance company is arguing that the baby’s right to sue his mother for injuries sustained while in utero would “conflict with the mother’s right to control her own body during the pregnancy.” The Globe and Mail reported today that pro-abortion groups such as the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League (CARAL) have sought intervenor status in the case for fear that any recognition of the rights of the unborn could damage abortion “rights.” CARAL argued that “A woman and her fetus are one. … The woman has a fundamental right to control her own body, she is the best person to decide how to live her life and what risks to assume.”  Pro-life observers are concerned that in agreeing to hear the case, the Supreme Court is hoping to change the well established legal precedents giving the fetus the same rights as born children to sue for injuries. Pro-life intervenors in the case argue that since children have the right to sue their parents for negligent conduct after birth, preborn children should not be deprived of these rights.