The High Court has heard that there’s no reasonable prospect for an unborn child to survive, even if the mother’s life support is continued.
The case is before a special sitting of the 3 judge court – as the pregnant woman’s family want her life support to be switched off.
The woman at the centre of this case was admitted to hospital on November 27th when she was 14 weeks pregnant.
She quickly deteriorated and on Decemebr 3rd was declared brain dead. Her family and the father of the child want life support to be switched off but doctors were concerned about the constitutional right to life of the unborn child.
The HSE told the special sitting of the High court that they don’t object to somatic support being switched off ass there is no reasonable prospect for the child being born alive even if life support is continued.
Consultant obstetrician Peter Boylan told the court that legal guidelines would be helpful to doctors, but that repealing the 8th amendment would be even more helpful.
He said the child was effectively in intensive care in the mother’s womb and continuing life support in this case was "experimental" and he said doctors were in "uncharted territory.
