by Jim O'Hara
Sent to the Star Banner, March 4, 2000
In 1989, Gwendolyn Golden Young was a happy expectant mother of twins. She went to St. Vincent's Medical Center of Jacksonville to undergo a routine amniocentesis to determine gender and to test for chromosomal abnormalities. St. Vincent's is a Roman Catholic medical center which honors all Roman Catholic doctrine, including the doctrine that a fetus is a human person from the moment of conception.
Tragically, one of the twins died when a doctor accidentally punctured it with a needle. Mrs. Young sought a settlement from the medical center for their medical malpractice which resulted in the death of her child. All agreed there had been medical malpractice. She understood the medical center's public Roman Catholic doctrinal position that the fetus was a human person when it died. One could expect church and medical center officials to make some settlement with her as the church has done in so many other cases of illegal behaviors by church officials. Church and medical center officials refused any settlement with her.
Florida law dictates a fetus is not a person until it is born. Roman Catholic church and medical center officials took this position in refusing to make any settlement with Mrs. Young. Contrary to church doctrine, they said the fetus who died was not a human person as it was not yet born. With legal assistance, Young sued the medical center. The case went all the way to the Florida Supreme Court.
In a 7-0 decision, the Supreme Court held a fetus cannot be considered a person under the
state's wrongful death law and barred Mrs. Young from suing the medical center. Once
this case was decided, church and medical center officials changed stances and once again
maintained a fetus is a human person from the moment of conception, except in this case.
James M. O'Hara