Ethical and Legal Dilemmas in Prolonged Physiologic Support after Brain Death in Previable Pregnancy
Providing physiologic support to a brain-dead pregnant decedent poses complex ethical, legal, and clinical challenges. Understanding these considerations is necessary to navigate complex discussion and provide appropriate medical care. We use a theoretical case to examine these considerations and outline a path forward.
Authors
- Allison M. Whelan
- April R. Dworetz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9628-3399)
- DonnaMaria E. Cortezzo
- Kara B. Markham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3523-1935)
- Ashley Waddell Tingstad
Institutions
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (US)
- Harvard University (US)
- University of Connecticut (US)
- Emory University (US)
- Georgia State University (US)
- Wayne State University (US)
- Connecticut Children's Medical Center (US)
- Blank Children's Hospital (US)
- University of Cincinnati Medical Center (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Journal of Law Medicine & Ethics
- Published
- 2026-04-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1017/jme.2026.10260
- Primary Topic
- Organ Donation and Transplantation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00