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Related Experiment Video

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Analysis of Electrocardiograms and Behavior in Mice from Pregnancy to Lactation Period
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ON GESTATION AND MOTHERHOOD.

Zaina Mahmoud1, Elizabeth Chloe Romanis2

  • 1London Women's Clinic, London, UK; School of Law, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.

Medical Law Review
|August 18, 2022
PubMed
Summary

English law conflates gestation with legal motherhood, harming pregnant people's autonomy. Recognizing the distinct concepts of gestation and mothering is crucial for bodily autonomy and diverse family formation.

Keywords:
GestationMotherhoodParenthoodPregnancyReproduction

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Area of Science:

  • Socio-legal Studies
  • Bioethics
  • Reproductive Rights

Background:

  • English law assigns legal motherhood to the person who gestates.
  • Gestation is often legally and medically conflated with mothering, preceding birth.
  • This conflation overlooks that a fetus lacks legal personhood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critique the medico-legal conflation of gestation and motherhood in English law.
  • To analyze the negative impacts of this conflation on pregnant individuals' autonomy.
  • To advocate for a clearer distinction between gestation and mothering.

Main Methods:

  • Legal analysis of English law regarding motherhood and gestation.
  • Philosophical examination of the concepts of gestation and mothering.
  • Ethical assessment of the consequences of conflating these terms.

Main Results:

  • The conflation of gestation with motherhood inaccurately presumes parental status before birth.
  • This medico-legal blurring infringes upon the bodily autonomy of pregnant individuals, particularly those who do not identify as women or intend to parent.
  • It can lead to coercion into obstetric interventions.

Conclusions:

  • A clearer legal and medical distinction between gestation and mothering is necessary.
  • This distinction would better protect pregnant individuals' autonomy and support diverse family structures.
  • Revising legal frameworks can promote individual rights and varied paths to parenthood.