“Fetal Rights” Established by Law or Judicial Decision
Laws and judicial decisions that grant fetuses — and in some cases embryos and fertilized eggs — the same legal rights and status given to born people, such as the right to life, is “fetal personhood.” When fetuses have rights, this fundamentally changes the legal rights and status of all pregnant people, opening the door to criminalization, surveillance, and obstetric violence.
Currently, 17 states have established fetal rights by law or judicial decision to apply to criminal law or both criminal and civil laws.
Last reviewed: 05/28/2025
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“Fetal Rights” Embedded in State Abortion Restrictions
At least 24 states include this type of language in laws regulating or prohibiting abortion care (e.g., using language such as “member of species Homo sapiens,” “unborn human being,” “unborn human individual,” “dignity of all human life,” “persons, born and unborn,” or “class of human beings”).
Last reviewed: 09/24/2024
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Laws and Judicial Decisions Making IVF Vulnerable to Legal Challenge
IVF may be at risk of legal challenges depending on a combination of state laws, including whether “fetal rights” are established and whether a state’s wrongful death statute could be construed as including frozen embryos.
Last reviewed: 09/24/2024
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Advance Directives and Pregnancy
Advance directives are written documents that detail the end-of-life treatment you would or wouldn’t want if you are terminally ill or suffering a life-threatening medical event and unable to communicate treatment decisions yourself.
If you are pregnant, however, those documents may be invalidated by your state’s laws. These pregnancy exclusions in advance directive laws can result in pregnant people receiving treatment they don’t want or need.
Last reviewed: 05/27/2025
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Feticidio criminal establecido por ley
Criminal feticide, or fetal homicide, refers to a type of law that authorizes homicide (murder) charges for “causing” a pregnancy loss such as miscarriage or stillbirth. Originally championed as a way to protect pregnant people from violence caused by another person, feticide laws have been manipulated to criminalize people for the loss of their own pregnancy and indirectly normalize the concept of “fetal rights.”
Las leyes sobre feticidio también han fomentado la aplicación ampliada de otras leyes penales al embarazo. Actualmente, hay 38 estados que podrían autorizar la presentación de cargos de homicidio por causar la pérdida de un embarazo, incluso si aún no lo han hecho.
Last reviewed: 05/28/2025
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Leyes de internamiento civil: uso de sustancias y embarazo
Las leyes de internamiento civil ordenadas por los tribunales autorizan a los tribunales estatales a internar a una persona embarazada en un tratamiento por consumo de sustancias sin su consentimiento, con el pretexto de proteger al feto. Hay dos formas en que una persona puede ser internada por uso de sustancias durante el embarazo: mediante una orden de emergencia o mediante una orden judicial. Los internamientos de emergencia suelen ser más cortos y los realiza un administrador de un centro de salud mental, mientras que los internamientos ordenados por un tribunal suelen ser por un período de tiempo más largo.
Actualmente, cinco estados autorizan a los tribunales estatales a someter a una persona embarazada a un tratamiento por consumo de sustancias sin su consentimiento.
Last reviewed: 05/28/2025
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