Irish Court Mulls Rights of Dead Woman vs. Fetus
A lawyer representing a 17-week-old fetus living inside the clinically dead body of its mother says the unborn child's right to life trumps the woman's right to a dignified death.
Conor Dignam made his closing arguments Wednesday to three Dublin High Court judges who must decide whether Ireland's anti-abortion laws permit the woman's life support machines to be turned off. Their judgment is expected Friday.
Seven doctors, the woman's father and her partner agreed in testimony Tuesday that use of artificial means to sustain the woman's deteriorating body should end because she was declared clinically dead December 3 and her fetus has no reasonable chance of survival.
Dignam says Ireland's constitutional ban on abortion requires authorities to defend the fetus' right to life if any possibility exists.
Source: Associated Press
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