Reproductive Rights Prof Blog

Nepal Bans Surrogacy

New York Times (May 3, 2016): Fewer Surrogacy Options as Nepal Joins a Trend, by Rachel Abrams:

Nepal has banned surrogacy after serving as a robust surrogacy destination for hopeful parents from around the world.  Nepal became a popular destination especially for gay couples after India decided to bar gays from have children via surrogacy there.  Developing countries like Nepal, India and Thailand have one by one restricted or prohibited surrogacy to respond to concerns that surrogacy is akin to human trafficking and that surrogates in those countries are exploited by couples who cannot afford surrogacy in the United States.  They may also be exploited by agencies and few protections if an agency refuses to pay or the surrogate becomes ill or is injured.  Complicating the debate is the fact that surrogates in these countries can earn much, much more than other employment options afford them.   

Asylum Seeker Refused Abortion Sues Ireland

Irish Examiner (Mar. 20, 2016): Asylum Seeker Refused Abortion Sues State, by Ann O'Loughlin:

An asylum seeker who arrived in Ireland pregnant as a result of a kidnapping and rape in her country of origin but was refused an abortion in Ireland has sued the state for trespass, assault and battery, negligence, and the intentional infliction of emotional distress.  The plaintiff has also brought deprivation of constitutional rights and human rights claims.

Her child was delivered by cesarean section. 

A judge hearing the matter has allowed the case to proceed anonymously.

 

 

Woman Locked in Ward after Giving Birth

Center for Reproductive Rights Press Release (Apr. 1, 2016): Case of Illegal Detention and Death of Woman at Hospital Heads to High Court of Nigeria:

With support from the Center for Reproductive Rights, an advocacy group has filed suit in the case of a woman illegally detained by a hospital to which she was admitted after suffering complications in the course of a cesarean section at another hospital.  Folake Oduyoye was discharged after two months but was locked in a guarded ward that lacked toilet facilities and mosquito netting because she could not pay her bill in full.  Oduyoye eventually died from post-partum sepsis and pneumonia.

The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the detainment was illegal, unconstitutional, and in breach of Oduyoye's rights, along with financial reparations and a public apology.

The Center has been working to end the mistreatment of women in maternity hospitals.

Kate Butler on Wrongs to Brain-Dead Pregnant Women

The Journal IE (Mar. 30, 2016): The Horrific Case Involving a Young Pregnant Brain-dead Woman May not Be a One-off, by Kate Butler:

Two years ago, the Eight Amendment to the Irish Constitution resulted in a judicial circus act as the court wrestled to define the rights of the 15-week-old unborn fetus carried by a brain-dead pregnant woman reposing in an Irish hospital.  The fetus was highly unlikely to survive.  The woman's family was forced to bring a petition to the High Court asking it to order that the woman's artificial life support be terminated.

The court held that it was in the best interests of the unborn child to authorise the withdrawal of life support, and said that maintenance of life support would deprive the mother of dignity in death and subject her father, her partner and her young children to “unimaginable distress in a futile exercise.”

Butler notes that this case is not a "one-off."  Indeed, new legislation in Ireland grants individuals autonomy to employ advanced healthcare directives to choose the course of their end-of-life care, except if the individual is a pregnant woman.  The legislation requires medical professionals to refuse the wish of a pregnant woman to refuse life-prolonging care.  Those same professionals have no discretion in the matter.  They must refer the case to the judiciary.     

Butler is concerned about how the Irish Constitution's guarantee of the right to life of the unborn will apply in cases where the fetus has a greater chance of survival if the brain-dead woman is kept on life support. 

The ambiguities . . . are not accidental or due to some governmental oversight. They are intentional. This new legislation makes that clear.

Butler is calling on the new government to launch a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment.