Catholic Hospital Lawyers Denying Fetus Is 'Baby' Sparks Fight With Church

A Catholic hospital is under fire for arguing in court that a fetus is not legally a person, a claim aimed at limiting financial damages in a malpractice case that has ignited backlash and drawn scrutiny over the tension between religious doctrine and legal defense.

The Context

Catholic Health Initiatives-Iowa, which operates MercyOne Medical Center in Des Moines, is facing a wrongful death lawsuit from Miranda and Landen Anderson. The couple alleges that MercyOne failed to act on signs of preeclampsia during Miranda's pregnancy, leading to the stillbirth of their daughter, Eloise, at 34 weeks gestation.

In legal filings, the hospital argues that because the child was not born alive, the death should not qualify as the loss of a "person" under Iowa law — a strategy intended to invoke the state's $250,000 cap on noneconomic malpractice damages, according to the Iowa State Dispatch.

What To Know

The case has sparked controversy not only for its legal implications but because the hospital involved is a Catholic institution. CHI's ethics guidelines state that it is committed to "respect the sacredness of every human life from the moment of conception until death." Yet its current legal defense appears to contradict that principle — a conflict that has surfaced before on the national stage.

"There is no case law, and plaintiffs cite to none, finding 'loss of pregnancy' is a 'loss or impairment of a bodily function,'" CHI and MercyOne attorneys wrote in court documents.

Given the Catholic Church's belief that life begins at conception, defense attorneys for the hospital and doctors made an unusual argument: that legally recognizing a fetus as a "person" could carry serious consequences in other areas of the law. They also noted that no statute or binding case law currently defines an unborn child as a "patient."

This same argument drew national backlash more than a decade ago in Colorado. In that case, Lori Stodghill, who was 28 weeks pregnant with twins, died of a pulmonary embolism after arriving at St. Thomas More Hospital in Canon City. Her unborn sons died as well.

Her husband, Jeremy Stodghill, sued the hospital for wrongful death. CHI's lawyers argued that under Colorado law, a fetus is not a "person," and the suit should be dismissed.

The response was swift and critical. Catholic leaders condemned the defense, and CHI ultimately reversed its position. "It was morally wrong for attorneys representing St. Thomas More Hospital to cite the state's Wrongful Death Act in defense of this lawsuit," CHI said in a 2013 statement. The act "does not consider fetuses to be persons, which directly contradicts the moral teachings of the Church."

The Colorado bishops also weighed in, stating: "Each human life is a sacred gift, created as a unique and unrepeatable expression of God's love. Life is given by God, and the right to life is a fundamental good, without which no other rights can be enjoyed."

Now, with a near-identical legal argument resurfacing in Iowa, critics are questioning whether Catholic healthcare institutions consistently uphold their religious teachings when faced with legal and financial risk.

Attorneys for the Andersons argue that a 2023 legislative update — which explicitly added "loss of pregnancy" to the list of exemptions from Iowa's damages cap — was meant as a clarification, not a new provision. They maintain that the original 2017 law was always intended to cover cases like theirs.

Despite past condemnation and public concern, CHI has not backed down from its current legal position.

"We join CHI in affirming the fundamental truth that human life, human dignity and human rights begin at conception," the Colorado bishops said in their 2013 joint statement. "No law can ever mitigate God-given human rights."

What People Are Saying

Attorneys for CHI and MercyOne argued in court filings: "Finding an unborn child to be a 'person' would lead to serious implications in other areas of the law."

Miguel De La Torre, a professor at the Iliff School of Theology, told NBC News: "If that legislation were to come up again, how could the Catholic Church argue we should protect the rights of a fetus?"

What Happens Next

The court is expected to rule soon on whether the cap will apply in this case, which is set for trial on May 12.