Texas justices rule fetus not a ‘person’ in lawsuit
Justices: Fetus is not a ‘person’
Texas high court rules 8-1 the parents of a stillborn baby can’t sue hospital
JANET ELLIOTT, Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau
Published 5:30 am, Monday, August 30, 2004
AUSTIN - The parents of a stillborn child cannot sue medical practitioners for negligence because a fetus is not a “person” or “individual” under state laws, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled.
The court in an 8-1 ruling overturned a decision of the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth that Tara Reese could sue a Fort Worth hospital for the mental anguish she suffered after her baby died in utero in 1998.
Lawyers for Reese had urged the court to follow 37 other states that allow wrongful-death claims for stillborn children. Texas is one of 10 states that do not recognize such claims.
That’s a Texas ruling not a federal statue or ruling.