The Ethical and Legal Conundrum: Should a Mother Owe a Duty of Care to her Unborn Child?
It is likely that, for emotional and moral reasons, the vast majority of society would agree with the proposition that a mother ought to care for and protect her unborn child. However, it is questionable whether those same members of society would all agree with the imposition of a broad, legally en...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Curtin Business School
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/12886 |
| _version_ | 1848748201065054208 |
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| author | Do, Christina Mapulanga-Hulston, Jackbeth |
| author_facet | Do, Christina Mapulanga-Hulston, Jackbeth |
| author_sort | Do, Christina |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | It is likely that, for emotional and moral reasons, the vast majority of society would agree with the proposition that a mother ought to care for and protect her unborn child. However, it is questionable whether those same members of society would all agree with the imposition of a broad, legally enforceable duty of care on an expectant mother, when armed with knowledge of the consequences that may flow from breach of such a duty. This research paper seeks to examine the competing international policy considerations in order to conclude whether the imposition of such a duty is appropriate and acceptable in modern Australia. This analysis will compare the approaches to such a duty in Canada and the United Kingdom. Presently in Australia, the circumstances under which a mother owes a duty of care to her unborn child are not settled. The Australian legislature and judiciary are yet to reach a definitive conclusion as to the extent of the duty of care owed by a mother to her unborn child. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:01:16Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-12886 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:01:16Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Curtin Business School |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-128862017-03-08T13:31:52Z The Ethical and Legal Conundrum: Should a Mother Owe a Duty of Care to her Unborn Child? Do, Christina Mapulanga-Hulston, Jackbeth Human rights Prenatal injuries (Law) Human Unborn children (Law) Abnormalities It is likely that, for emotional and moral reasons, the vast majority of society would agree with the proposition that a mother ought to care for and protect her unborn child. However, it is questionable whether those same members of society would all agree with the imposition of a broad, legally enforceable duty of care on an expectant mother, when armed with knowledge of the consequences that may flow from breach of such a duty. This research paper seeks to examine the competing international policy considerations in order to conclude whether the imposition of such a duty is appropriate and acceptable in modern Australia. This analysis will compare the approaches to such a duty in Canada and the United Kingdom. Presently in Australia, the circumstances under which a mother owes a duty of care to her unborn child are not settled. The Australian legislature and judiciary are yet to reach a definitive conclusion as to the extent of the duty of care owed by a mother to her unborn child. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/12886 Curtin Business School fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Human rights Prenatal injuries (Law) Human Unborn children (Law) Abnormalities Do, Christina Mapulanga-Hulston, Jackbeth The Ethical and Legal Conundrum: Should a Mother Owe a Duty of Care to her Unborn Child? |
| title | The Ethical and Legal Conundrum: Should a Mother Owe a Duty of Care to her Unborn Child? |
| title_full | The Ethical and Legal Conundrum: Should a Mother Owe a Duty of Care to her Unborn Child? |
| title_fullStr | The Ethical and Legal Conundrum: Should a Mother Owe a Duty of Care to her Unborn Child? |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Ethical and Legal Conundrum: Should a Mother Owe a Duty of Care to her Unborn Child? |
| title_short | The Ethical and Legal Conundrum: Should a Mother Owe a Duty of Care to her Unborn Child? |
| title_sort | ethical and legal conundrum: should a mother owe a duty of care to her unborn child? |
| topic | Human rights Prenatal injuries (Law) Human Unborn children (Law) Abnormalities |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/12886 |