Life, Heartbeat, Birth: a Medical Basis for Reform
Life, Heartbeat, Birth: A Medical Basis for Reform DAVID F. FORTE* TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................... 121 II. THE STATUS OF MEDICAL RESEARCH IN ROE V. WADE .................. 123 III. CASEY'S MODIFICATION OF ROE. ...................... ...... 129 IV. THE VIABILITY STANDARD: STATE LEGISLATION . ............. 133 V. THE VIABILITY STANDARD: DEFINITION...................... 135 VI. THE VIABILITY STANDARD: THE RATIONALE ................. 137 VII. AN ALTERNATIVE: HEARTBEAT.............................. 140 VIII. CONCLUSION. .................................. ......... 146 I. INTRODUCTION We begin with terminology. Colloquially, parents say, "Before you were born. ." The clear meaning, of course, is that the "you" ("our son" or "our daughter") existed in the womb before the coming out known as birth. That son or daughter began biological existence, with a unique DNA, at the moment when a spermatozoon fertilized a human egg. Not inaccurately, the resultant fetus is often called an "unborn child." Pregnant women sometimes say, "I can feel my baby moving," or, if they know the sex, "He's (or she's) really kicking, now." We can then understand why that entity, a unique individual of the human species, is recognized as a rights-bearing entity, deserving-as of right-protection from unjustified harm, as any born human individual would possess that right.1 * Professor of Law, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University. A.B. Harvard, M.A. Manchester, Ph.D. Toronto, J.D. Columbia. The author wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to the scores of scholars who have analyzed the central holdings of the major cases on abortion, only a few of whom could be appropriately cited in this work. The author is also grateful for the skilled research efforts and drafting suggestions of Matthew Hebebrand, Anthony Miranda, Daniel Dew, Ryan Mulvey, and Christopher Stuart.
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