Court-ordered cesarean section: an analysis of ethical concerns in compelling cases.
Two previously unreported cases are presented in which court-ordered cesarean sections were considered appropriate by physicians. An analysis of the factors that compel physicians to deem court-ordered intervention appropriate is presented. When the significance of a third-trimester fetal death or a lifetime physical or mental disability is balanced against the demand to uphold maternal autonomy at all costs, the recognized ethical principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, obstetric contract keeping, and acting in the patients' best interests combine, in rare situations, to override concerns for individual maternal autonomy and justify court-ordered intervention.
Elkins
T E
TE
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor 48109-0718.
Andersen
H F
HF
Barclay
M
M
Mason
T
T
Bowdler
N
N
Anderson
G
G
D000328:Adult; D026686:Beneficence; D002585:Cesarean Section; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death; D005316:Fetal Distress / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D033222:Judicial Role; D007603:Jurisprudence; D033261:Maternal-Fetal Relations; D010349:Patient Compliance; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011247:Pregnancy; D037841:Pregnant People; D018570:Risk Assessment; D026712:Value of Life