Judgment, 6 May 1988.
The plaintiff brought a suit against the defendant physician for reckless homicide under the German Penal Code.  She accused him of negligence in failing to induce labor when she entered the hospital, with the result that her unborn child died approximately 1 week later.  The Court dismissed the suit, ruling that a fetus could not be protected under the reckless homicide provisions of the Penal Code.  It concluded that it was up to the legislators to provide protection for the fetus in such circumstances.
D003710:Demography; D019049:Developed Countries; D005060:Europe; D005860:Germany, West; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007603:Jurisprudence; D009026:Mortality; D011153:Population; D011157:Population Dynamics
Court Decision; Demographic Factors; Developed Countries; Europe; Germany, Federal Republic Of; Infant Mortality; Medical Liability; Mortality; Neonatal Mortality--legal aspects; Population; Population Dynamics; Western Europe