DOING A 180

Lawsuit Over Stillborn Baby Has Texas Questioning Fetal Rights

“Just because several statutes define an individual to include an unborn child does not mean that the Fourteenth Amendment does the same,” the state argues.

Texas, a fiercely anti-abortion state that has fought for the rights of unborn children, is now conveniently arguing the opposite in a legal battle spurred by a lawsuit filed in 2021. According to the lawsuit, prison guard Salia Issa began feeling intense pain “similar to a contraction” during her shift, but her supervisor allegedly refused to let her leave and kept her in the post for another two hours. Once she was finally let go, the suit says Issa had to drive herself to the hospital to undergo emergency surgery because doctors were unable to detect a fetal heartbeat. Soon after, she delivered her baby stillborn. Issa is seeking monetary damages to cover her medical bills and funeral expenses for the unborn child, but the state attorney general’s office has requested a judge dismiss the case. Central to the state’s argument is that “just because several statutes define an individual to include an unborn child does not mean that the Fourteenth Amendment does the same,” the office wrote in a March legal filing. Their argument also leans on the fact that Issa lost her unborn child before the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Just last week, a judge recommended the case move forward without addressing arguments over the rights of a fetus.