Abstract
In late 2013, two women from North America gained attention after sustaining catastrophic brain injuries while pregnant. After Marlise Muñoz--who was at 14 weeks of pregnancy when she developed a pulmonary embolism--was pronounced brain dead, hospital officials initially refused to withdraw support, citing a Texas state law requiring them to maintain life-sustaining treatment for a pregnant patient to help to save the fetus. By contrast, when Robyn Benson was pronounced brain dead after a brain hemorrhage at 22 weeks of pregnancy, both her husband and the physicians agreed to continue support until a viable child could be delivered. The Muñoz and Benson cases offer an opportunity to explore the medical, legal, and ethical issues surrounding catastrophic brain injury in pregnant women. It is hoped that the present article will enable clinicians to better appreciate the history and present state of issues involving advance directives for pregnant women, maternal versus fetal interests, and the impact of fetal viability on medical decision making, as well as offer a practical assessment of the various US state laws concerning the rare, yet catastrophic event of brain injury in a pregnant woman.
References
Sep 1, 1991·The Journal of Legal Medicine·L A Albert
Aug 12, 1988·JAMA : the Journal of the American Medical Association·D R FieldR K Laros
Sep 3, 1982·JAMA : the Journal of the American Medical Association·W P DillonR J Foote
Oct 20, 2001·Journal of Korean Medical Science·K B Sim
Mar 16, 2002·Infection and Immunity·Federico SistiDaniela Flavia Hozbor
Oct 29, 2003·Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey·Melissa C BushSreedhar Gaddipati
Apr 27, 2004·Intensive Care Medicine·Alan LaneJohn G Laffey
Jun 19, 2004·BMJ : British Medical Journal·Charles Marwick
Sep 22, 2005·Neurocritical Care·Rachel A Farragher, John G Laffey
Nov 2, 2005·Obstetrics and Gynecology·UNKNOWN ACOG Committee on Ethics
Jan 10, 2006·BJOG : an International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology·I Y HusseinM R Said
Apr 25, 2006·American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology·Giuseppe ChiossiRonald L Thomas
Apr 2, 2008·Obstetrics and Gynecology·UNKNOWN Committee on Ethics
Nov 23, 2010·BMC Medicine·Majid EsmaeilzadehRezvan Ahmadi
Mar 4, 2011·International Journal of Molecular Medicine·Lisa M GreeneDaniela M Zisterer
May 30, 2013·Indian Journal of Pharmacology·Jaykaran Charan
Sep 24, 2013·The Journal of Legal Medicine·Christopher M BurkleKatherine W Arendt
Jan 1, 2014·Neurocritical Care·Eelco F M Wijdicks
Apr 15, 2014·American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology·Tonse N K RajuGerald F Joseph
Apr 16, 2014·American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology·Jennifer A Tessmer-TuckChristopher M Burkle
May 3, 2014·Obstetrics and Gynecology·Tonse N K RajuGerald F Joseph
Citations
Jun 18, 2016·Clinical Transplantation·Ariane LewisArthur Caplan
Oct 2, 2015·Continuum : Lifelong Learning in Neurology·Eelco F M Wijdicks
Oct 2, 2019·BMJ Case Reports·Ann Kristin ReinholdPeter Kranke
Aug 2, 2018·The New England Journal of Medicine·Eelco F M Wijdicks
Nov 30, 2019·Journal of Religion and Health·Ömer Faruk BoranHafize Öksüz
Aug 9, 2020·Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of India·Sujata SiwatchVanita Jain
Feb 19, 2021·American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology·Maria Gaia DodaroFederica Bellussi
Jul 24, 2021·Anästhesiologie, Intensivmedizin, Notfallmedizin, Schmerztherapie : AINS·Markus KredelPeter Kranke
Jul 24, 2021·Anästhesiologie, Intensivmedizin, Notfallmedizin, Schmerztherapie : AINS·Ann-Kristin ReinholdPeter Kranke