"Fetus-rights case to be heard in IU classroom" is the headline to this story today by Maureen Hayden in the Evansville Courier&Press. Some quotes:
Every year, the Indiana Court of Appeals selects one compelling case to go "on the road" to Indiana University's Bloomington campus so law students can witness justice in action.The first issue to decide, the story continues, is "does Horn's 6-month-old fetus fit the definition of 'child' under Indiana's wrongful death laws." The story makes reference to a Kentucky Supreme Court decision from June holding that a "viable fetus" is considered a person. Access the Indiana Law Blog entry on the Kentucky case and a link to the Kentucky opinion, Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Morris, here.This year, the justices have picked an Evansville case [Brittany Horn et al vs. Kristi L. Hendrickson, et al] that deals with an emotionally charged and legally complex issue: That is, if a fetus is killed in an accident, was it ever really a child under Indiana law? Lawyers with two Evansville law firms will be arguing that issue Nov. 18, when the state's appellate court sets up shop in a classroom in Bloomington to hear what some are calling a "fetus rights" case. * * *
The oral arguments will deal with only one component of a complex lawsuit that arises from a traffic accident that occurred in July 2001. Evansville resident Brittany Horn, who was six months pregnant, was injured in the two-car accident. Horn survived, but the fetus, whom she already had named Libby Ann, died. Horn held a funeral for the fetus and buried her in a child's casket. Because there were questions about who caused the accident, Horn found herself involved in a legal dispute over who would pay for the cost of the burial, the funeral and other expenses associated with the death.
Some other interesting ILB entries from last year include this one from Oct. 9. 2003. See in particular the quotes from the 2002 Indiana Supreme Court decision in Bolin v. Wingart ("In a case of first impression under Indiana’s Child Wrongful Death Statute, we address the question whether an eight- to ten-week-old fetus fits the definition of 'child.' We conclude that it does not.").
Also on 9/21/03 the ILB had an entry beginning "A suit filed in federal district court here September 10 'accuses the government and Prudential [Life] of breach of contract for refusing to pay a $10,000 claim Warnock filed after his son, Joshua, was stillborn on April 14, 2002.'" [Unfortunately I can't link directly to this entry right now, but will after a forthcoming ILB upgrade.]
Posted by Marcia Oddi at August 25, 2004 09:18 AM