2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Informed Consent for New Fetal Treatment
| Project/Area Number |
18530084
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
New fields of law
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| Research Institution | Gunma University of Social Welfare |
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Principal Investigator |
SAKAIHARA Mitsuo Gunma University of Social Welfare, School of Social Welfare, Prof. (30332464)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
SATORU Makinoda Kanazawa Medical Univ., School of Med., Prof. (80165688)
AJUO Suda Hokkaigakuen Univ., School of Law, Prof. (80047985)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2006 – 2007
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| Keywords | fetal treatment / informed consent / medical law / obstetrics |
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| Research Abstract |
In Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, a child who is born disabled is able to file a claim against the person who injured him or her in the mother's uterus. On the other hand, in Japan and the UK, it is traditionally considered that a fetus is not a person and there are no legal rights for a stillborn child who died in the mother's uterus. A fetus does not have rights of its own until it is born and has a separate existence from its mother. Consequently, in Japan the parents of a stillborn child are not able to recover damages as administrators in the event of the wrongful death of their unborn child. They are only able to recover damages for pain and suffering related to the stillbirth of their child. In more than 30 states of the USA, the parents of a stillborn child may recover damages as administrators for the wrongful death of their child if the injury that causes the subsequent death is inflicted after the fetus becomes viable. Along with the progress of medical sci
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ence, a fetus is starting to be considered "a person". So we must change the legal status of a fetus to keep up with the progress in medical science.
Lately, many prenatal diseases can be diagnosed before birth by genetic and imaging techniques. And we have become able to treat a fetus with problems while it is still in the mother's uterus. Fetal treatment is designed to benefit the fetus, but fetal treatment carries the risk of injuring the mother's health. The risks for the mother are not only from general anesthesia and abdominal incision, but also include the risk of preterm delivery as the consequence of the incision in the uterus. Moreover fetal treatment is still unreliable. Therefore, doctors must inform expecting mother and her husband about all options, risks, and benefits in detail. And they must have the right to have adequate time to decide whether they will undergo the fetal treatment or not. The mother is entitled to refuse fetal treatment even if the life of her fetus depends upon that treatment. And the needs of the fetus cannot justify invasive surgery where the mother's consent is refused. But many mothers will make the decision of undergoing fetal treatment on behalf of the fetus' best interests. We will have to consider not only the right of the mother, but also the rights of a fetus and whether it will desire to undergo treatment while in the uterus or not. Less
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