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Dietrich v. Northampton
In 1884, a pregnant mother slipped and fell on the icy streets of Northampton, Massachusetts, causing her to miscarry the fetus. She sued the city for wrongful death, but the courts ruled that the fetus was "'not to be regarded as a separate, distinct, and individual entity’" (Dubrow 52) from its mother. This case marks one of the first legal rulings on the status of the fetus as a citizen. -
Allaire v. St. Luke's Hospital
In early 1900, a pregnant woman was badly injured in an elevator incident at St. Luke's Hospital. She gave birth to a deformed baby, and sued the hospital for damages. The court's ruled that the infant had "no separate legal presence" from his mother because at the time of the incident he had "no actual existence," putting the point of personhood at birth. -
Preserved fetuses are displayed at the World's Fair
In 1933, scientists presenting at the Chicago World's Fair set up a display of unborn fetuses ranging from a few days to almost nine months gestation. This was met with great enthusiasm and little concern for the fetuses themselves, establishing that the public still felt the point of personhood to be at birth. -
Bonbrest v. Kotz
Obstetricians J. Kotz and Morton S. Kaufman were alleged to have caused prenatal injury to an unborn child, Bette Bonbrest through malpractice. The courts ruled in favor of Bonbrest, who was a viable fetus at the time of injury. This awarded 'locus standi' or the fundamental right to bring a case to court, to viable fetuses and rolled the moment of fetal personhood to the point of viability. -
Verkennes v. Cornelia
In 1949, the Minnesota State Court ruled in a fetal wrongful death case that damages were only to be awarded when "independent existence is possible," at the point of viability. -
People v. Clarke
Amidst a battle for custody of his children, Donald Clarke was arrested for failure to provide child support and necessary furnishings, "including for the child conceived but not yet born." This was a landmark case, confirming that the point of fetal personhood and legal presence was anytime after conception. -
Roe v. Wade
In this seminal decision on privacy rights, the right to an abortion was granted conditionally. Under a newly established trimester framework, women could only get abortions up to the first trimester, which the majority opinion admitted was "arbitrary." This put the point of fetal personhood at viability, even though a fetus was not ruled "a person within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment." -
Ward Hall arrested for displaying preserved fetus
At the Lake County Fair in 1977, a presenter was arrested and charged with illegal transportation of human remains for displaying a preserved fetus in his stall. This was a stark clash with the attitudes of the 1933 fair, and put the point of personhood in utero. -
Ronald Reagan confirms fetal pain
In an address to the National Religious Broadcasters convention, President Reagan announced that the unborn feel "pain that is long and drawn out," to immediate uproar. Representing the medical community, the American College of Gynecology and Obstetrics stated they knew of no such evidence, but the mainstream public seized the idea and set the notion of personhood early on in the pregnancy. -
NARAL distributes "The Silent Scream"
Inspired by Ronald Reagan's declaration, the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws produced a short documentary showing the alleged pain and suffering a fetus endures during an abortion. 10 million copies were produced, but the film was denounced by medical professionals. -
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
In a case brought by many defendants against the state of Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court upheld the rights to privacy found in Roe v. Wade, but also upheld a minor's requirement to obtain parental consent and a wife's requirement to obtain consent from her husband before getting an abortion. This ruling upheld the point of personhood at viability stated in Roe v. Wade, but also imposed sever sanctions on the bodily autonomy of the mother. -
Johnson v. State is overturned
In 1992, the Florida Supreme court overturned Johnson v. State, which accused Jennifer Johnson of providing controlled substances to a minor through prenatal drug use. This effectively rolled back the instance of fetal personhood to the moment of birth under Florida state law. -
Gentry v. Gilmore
On August 6th, 1992, Kathleen Gentry underwent a D&C for what she was told was an unviable embryo. An ultrasound on August 8th revealed an apparently healthy fetus, but Gentry miscarried on August 9th and sued her doctors for wrongful death. In this case, the court ruled "that the Wrongful Death Act does not provide a cause of action for the death of a nonviable fetus," putting the moment of fetal personhood at viability and not before. -
Weirsman v. Maple Leaf Farms
In 1996, Barbara Ann Weirsman ate a contaminated chicken sandwich and contracted samonella, killing her viable fetus in utero. She sued the manufacturer and won, because the court interpreted South Dakota's wrongful death statute "to include any child still within a mother's womb," and noted that "no distinction was made between viable and nonviable" fetuses by the legislature. This confirmed the point of personhood to be at viability. -
Whitner v. State
In 1995, 28 year old Cornelia Whitner gave birth to an apparently healthy baby boy, but when trace amounts of cocaine were found in his system, she was charged with criminal neglect. Whitner pled guilty, hoping to get into a rehab program, but was sentenced to 8 years in jail. Her sentencing put the point of fetal personhood squarely before birth. -
State of Michigan v. Jacyln Louise Kurr
In late 2002 Jaclyn Louise Kurr was engaged in a fight with her boyfried, who she alleged punched her in the stomach as she was 16 weeks pregnant with quadruplets. She used deadly force and killed her attacker, and the courts ruled that pregnant women may use force in self defense of their fetuses, even if their own lives are not in danger. This put the point of personhood anytime at all after conception. -
Gonzalez v. Carhart
This law was signed into order by President George W. Bush in 2003 to ban 'partial birth abortions,' where part or all of a fetus at any age is delivered into the birth canal and aborted. The legality of this law was questioned under the fourteenth amendment, but put the point of personhood any time after conception. -
Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act is passed
In late 2006, Congress passed this very controversial act stating that there is "substantial evidence that the process of being killed in an abortion will cause the unborn child pain, even though you receive a pain-reducing drug." The evidence for this statement has been contested, but the act stands as precedent for many of the 'right to know' laws that ensure a woman pursuing abortion is fully informed of her options (though this may turn out to be anti-abortion proselytizing instead). -
People v. Alvarez-Garcia
Jesus Alvarez-Garcia was arrested in 2002 for not only murdering his estranged wife, but murdering the unborn child she was carrying. He claimed not to have known she was pregnant at the time, but was sentenced to life in jail for a double homicide in 2009. This put the point of personhood before the age of viability, as the victim was just 17 weeks from conception. -
Bei Bei Shuai is charged with murder
Be Bei Shuai was a severely depressed soon-to-be-mother who attempted suicide while pregnant. Her attempt failed and but her fetus did not survive, and Shuai was charged in 2011 with murder and feticide, spending 435 days in jail. Shuai's case put the point of personhood at any time during the pregnancy, since her child was not viable outside the womb. -
“Pro-life Protections Act” HB 2253 is passed
In early 2013, Kansas signed into law a bill confirming that "the life of each human being begins at fertilization (and) unborn children have interests in life, health and well-being that should be protected.” This was one of the first states to officially certify the beginnings of life.