CV NEWS FEED // A Catholic health care provider in Iowa is arguing, in an attempt to limit its financial liability in a medical malpractice case, that a baby who died in the womb at 35 weeks gestation should not be considered a “person” under the law.
Iowa Capital Dispatch reports that Miranda and Landen Anderson filed a lawsuit after the stillbirth of their daughter, Eloise, in April 2021.
When she was 34 weeks pregnant, Miranda came to Pella Regional Health Center with high blood pressure, headaches, and edema, which are all signs of preeclampsia, a potentially life-threatening pregnancy complication for both mother and child.
Miranda was transferred to MercyOne’s Obstetrics Emergency Unit, part of Catholic Health Initiatives-Iowa (CHI), where she was monitored for two days before being discharged. In the days that followed, Miranda returned for further evaluations but was again sent home.
On April 21, doctors could no longer detect a fetal heartbeat. The next day, Miranda delivered Eloise via cesarean section.
The Andersons’ lawsuit alleges that CHI and its physicians failed to recommend early delivery, a decision they say would have saved Eloise’s life. The case accuses the hospital of negligence in managing Miranda’s worsening condition.
CHI’s legal team is arguing that the family’s damages should be capped under Iowa’s 2017 malpractice law, which limits noneconomic awards to $250,000 unless there is “loss or impairment of mind or body.” According to CHI, that exemption does not apply to the loss of a fetus.
In court filings, CHI and MercyOne state that the law does not recognize an unborn baby as a “person” or a “patient,” asserting that the 35-week-old unborn child does not qualify for the damage exemption.
“There is no statute or binding case law finding an unborn child to be a ‘patient’ under the law,” CHI’s attorneys wrote, citing a 1971 Iowa Supreme Court decision which held that damages cannot be awarded “on behalf of, or for, a nonexistent person.”
CHI’s 2018 ethics guidelines state that it is committed to respecting “the sacredness of every human life from the moment of conception until death.”
Attorneys for the Andersons argue that this interpretation not only contradicts Catholic moral teaching but ignores legislative intent. In 2023, Iowa lawmakers added “loss of pregnancy” to the list of exceptions for the damages cap. CHI claims this was an expansion of the law; the Andersons argue it merely clarified existing protections for unborn life.
The hospital is now seeking a court order to enforce the $250,000 damages cap. A hearing is scheduled for later this month. The full trial is set for May 12.
Iowa Capital Dispatch reports that a spokesperson for MercyOne said the hospital does not comment on pending litigation.
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