http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-10-02/purvi-patels-new-defense-team-appeals-her-conviction-feticide-and-child-neglect
See also: Six disturbing medical issues in the case of Purvi Patel, and one hopeful one:
1.
Why was there such a dispute about a fetus's gestational age in Purvi Patel’s trial, and why is it important to know?
It’s not always easy to determine a fetus’s gestational age.
Typically, obstetricians calculate a pregnant woman’s due date based on
her last menstrual period. They also do an ultrasound in the first
trimester to help confirm a due date. The earlier the ultrasound is
done, the more reliable it is. Patel never got an ultrasound.
So in Patel’s case, the pathologists for the state and the defense
relied on things like the weight of the fetus and physical developmental
structures of the fetus and placenta that can give clues about how far
along it was. However, these “clues” are not absolute and do vary from
fetus to fetus. Additionally,
Dr. Kelly McGuire testified about gestational age based on his assessment of the body in a parking lot in the middle of the night.
While it’s difficult to determine the exact age of a preterm fetus,
the ability of a fetus to live outside its mother’s womb depends heavily
on its gestational age. For
extremely preterm
babies (those born before 28 weeks), extra-uterine survival can depend
on only a few days’ extra time inside the mother’s womb. That extra time
is vital for fetal lung development in particular. If born too early,
many babies die from respiratory distress.
2. What are the implications of this medical gray area for legal cases like this one?
Now that Purvi Patel has been convicted of causing the death of her
preterm baby by “abandoning” it, prosecutors all over Indiana can point
to this case and use it as rationale for convicting other women who
experience preterm birth. This case also sets precedent for charging
women for harming their fetuses, and reproductive rights advocates worry
that could possibly be used to convict women who do things like drink
alcohol or use illicit drugs while pregnant.
3. What concerns does medical community have about use of fetal homicide laws?
Major medical associations have
condemned
the use of fetal homicide laws against pregnant women. They say the use
of these laws could send a message that if pregnant women inadvertently
harm their fetuses, they could end up in prison. Doctors worry this
fear could keep women from seeking prenatal care, especially pregnant
women who might be addicted to illicit drugs, alcohol and perhaps even
cigarettes. Smoking is a known cause of preterm birth.
While many
states
have fetal homicide laws on the books, some state legislators took
health care providers’ concerns into account and and crafted exemptions
specifically for pregnant women so they can’t be charged for outcomes of
their own pregnancies. Not so in Indiana and
22 other states. (Proceed to the above link for the remaining disturbig issues in the Purvi Patel case - and the one hopeful one. HL);