Were prosecutors right to charge Melissa Rowland with murder?

Rowland's case raises fundamental questions, ethicists, politicians warn


By Jacob Santini
The Salt Lake Tribune

Charging a woman with murder for refusing a Caesarean section is nothing less than medical blackmail, says one women's rights advocate. "Will it empower doctors to use that as a threat?" said Lynn Paltrow, who founded the New York City-based National Advocates for Pregnant Women two years ago. Paltrow fears the developing Utah case could give physicians a new tool to coerce pregnant women into treatment. At a minimum, the charge could lead to other arrests of women who refuse C-sections. But there are broader impacts, says Jeff Botkin, a pediatrician and a member of the University of Utah's Division of Medical Ethics. What then are the bigger impacts for society to force certain behavior on women?" Botkin asked. "It does open that question up."

It all began Thursday with a three-page document filed in 3rd District Court that accused Melissa Ann Rowland, 28, of murder. The charges are based on Rowland's alleged refusal to consent to a C-section after doctors told her, on Jan. 2, that her twin babies would likely die without the procedure. On Jan. 13 -- 11 days later -- Rowland had a C-section and doctors delivered a stillborn boy and a breathing girl.

"This one is uncharted territory, and I hate to be the first state leading out in something of this nature," said Rep. Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan. "I think there's legitimate issues to be addressed there, but we have not discussed this and it's not a matter of policy or law yet, or even extensive debate. So going through and charging someone with murder in this situation is a bit discomfiting." But Sen. Pete Knudsen, R-Brigham City, says the state was right to step in. "If what I hear is true, negligence would have to be considered on the part of the mother if she didn't follow through with that advice," he said. "The life of that child is absolutely critical."

But experts say there's little standing for courts to force procedures on women who don't want them. "There's no way our legal counsel would support a coercive Caesarean," said Mary Mahowald, an assistant director of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago. "And that's the trend nationally."


http://www.sltrib.com/2004/Mar/03132004/utah/147350.asp