Burton v. Florida

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Samantha Burton v. State of Florida, is a Florida legal case that arose in March 2009 after Tallahassee Memorial Hospital sought to confine a pregnant woman, Samantha Burton, for fifteen weeks to protect her fetus.[1][2] The suit was eventually taken up by the Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and has become a major test case regarding the rights of pregnant women to make their own medical decisions.[3][4][5]

Contents

[edit] Background of the case

Samantha Burton, a un-married mother of two, was twenty-five weeks pregnant in March of 2009 when she experienced a premature rupture of membranes and displayed signs of premature labor.[6] At the urging of her obstetrician, she sought care at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.[7] She found not to be in labor, but ordered to remain on bed rest.[8][9]

Her obstetrician, Dr. Jana Bures-Forsthoefel, refused to allow her to leave the hospital to garner a second opinion and then obtained a court order from the Circuit Court of Leon County which required Burton to undergo "any and all medical treatments" that her physician, acting her doctor, acting in the interests of the fetus, deemed necessary. The Court held the hearing by telephone with Burton being required to argue her case from her hospital bed without the assistance of an attorney or independent medical opinion. Three days into her court-ordered confinement, Burton underwent an emergency C-section, at which time the fetus was found to be dead.[10]

David H. Abrams, a nurse attorney, appealed the Leon County Circuit Court ruling and the Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union joined as Amicus.[11] As of January 2010, the case is pending before the First District Court of Appeals in Tallahassee.[12]

[edit] Law and ethics

The hospital argued that it had a duty to protect the fetus under Florida's child welfare statutes.[13][14] The ACLU countered that this was a dangerous precedent: "To ignore this fundamental constitutional distinction between the state interest in protecting fetal life and its interest in the protecting the lives and health of people is to risk virtually unfettered intrusion into the lives of pregnant women."[15][16]

A leading bioethicist, Jacob M. Appel, has called for the physician responsible for Burton's confinement to be disciplined for conduct beyond the bounds of acceptable medical standards.[17] Appel views the hospital's actions as a systematic threat to the welfare of pregnant women that transcends this particular case. He has written: "Women who fear that they will be coerced into unwanted care will not seek any care at all--and the inevitable result will be miscarriages, premature births, sick children and even maternal mortality. That is the greater, invisible tragedy in this case: Some expecting mother, somewhere, fearing fifteen weeks of unwanted hospitalization and forced bed rest, may die indirectly as a result of the aggressive and unwarranted actions of Dr. Bures-Forsthoefel and the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital's legal team, although nobody will actually trace that unfortunate woman's death to their doorstep."[18]

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Belkin, Lisa. Is Refusing Bed Rest a Crime? The New York Times Jan. 12, 2010
  2. ^ Appel, Jacob M. Medical Kidnapping: Rogue Obstetricians vs. Pregnant Women, Jan. 23, 2010
  3. ^ The Best Interests of the Fetus Salon, Jan. 14, 2010
  4. ^ Appel, Jacob M. Medical Kidnapping: Rogue Obstetricians vs. Pregnant Women, Jan. 23, 2010
  5. ^ Montaro, Julie.Tallahassee Woman Fights Bed Rest Order and More Jan 13 2010
  6. ^ The Best Interests of the Fetus Salon, Jan. 14, 2010
  7. ^ The Best Interests of the Fetus Salon, Jan. 14, 2010
  8. ^ The Best Interests of the Fetus Salon, Jan. 14, 2010
  9. ^ Appel, Jacob M. Medical Kidnapping: Rogue Obstetricians vs. Pregnant Women, Jan. 23, 2010
  10. ^ Belkin, Lisa. Is Refusing Bed Rest a Crime? The New York Times Jan. 12, 2010
  11. ^ Appel, Jacob M. Medical Kidnapping: Rogue Obstetricians vs. Pregnant Women, Jan. 23, 2010
  12. ^ Belkin, Lisa. Is Refusing Bed Rest a Crime? The New York Times Jan. 12, 2010
  13. ^ The Best Interests of the Fetus Salon, Jan. 14, 2010
  14. ^ Court Forces Bed Rest on Pregnant Woman by Diana Kasdan
  15. ^ Belkin, Lisa. Is Refusing Bed Rest a Crime? The New York Times Jan. 12, 2010
  16. ^ Appel, Jacob M. Medical Kidnapping: Rogue Obstetricians vs. Pregnant Women, Jan. 23, 2010
  17. ^ Appel, Jacob M. Medical Kidnapping: Rogue Obstetricians vs. Pregnant Women, Jan. 23, 2010
  18. ^ Appel, Jacob M. Medical Kidnapping: Rogue Obstetricians vs. Pregnant Women, Jan. 23, 2010
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