title: Overturning refusal of a hospital to terminate life support for a brain-dead mother until the fetus was born: What is the law in South Africa?
abstract: In a Texas case the court granted a husband an order for the removal of life support from his brain-dead pregnant wife after a hospital tried to keep her on it until the fetus was born. In South Africa the court would have issued a similar order, but for different reasons. Here, unlawfully and intentionally subjecting a pregnant corpse to life-support measures to keep a fetus alive against the wishes of the family would amount to the crime of violating a corpse.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. mcquoidm@ukzn.ac.za.
authors.forename: David Jan
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: McQuoid-Mason
mesh_terms: D001926:Brain Death; D005066:Euthanasia, Passive / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus; D006801:Humans; D008021:Life Support Systems; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D013019:South Africa