Fetal versus maternal rights: medical and legal perspectives.

This report deals with a patient's refusal to undergo cesarean section, which was recommended when fetal distress occurred in labor. Faced with this conflict of maternal and fetal rights, the physicians, administrators, and attorneys of the hospital requested a hearing and decision on the issue by the juvenile court. As a result cesarean section was performed as ordered by the court to safeguard the life of the unborn infant in spite of the objections of the mother. This case, in part, illustrates the need for the administrative capability to deal with such a situation even on an emergency basis, and a possible solution when this situation arises.