Fetal personhood: What happens when the rights of the “fertilized egg” supersede the rights of the mother

Abstract

Fetal personhood laws open the door for further surveillance and punishment during pregnancy, write Terry McGovern and colleagues Since the US Supreme Court issued the Dobbs decision, which rolled back the constitutional right to abortion, public health experts have focused mainly on the harm to health caused by abortion bans, as more states moved to restrict when abortion was legal.12 While this is a legitimate focus, there has been another, stealthier legal trend that threatens reproductive healthcare and bodily autonomy more broadly. The rise of laws and state high court opinions granting fertilized eggs, embryos, or fetuses separate legal rights from the person carrying the pregnancy are equally nefarious. At first glance, it may seem that the movement to recognise a fetus as a legal person has only recently gained momentum, as evidenced by lawmakers in Idaho, Indiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas introducing or working to introduce bills to allow homicide charges to be brought against people suspected of having an abortion.345 Or in Montana where after voters approved by 58% a state constitutional amendment in 2024 that secured abortion rights, lawmakers are now moving to place a “personhood upon conception” amendment on the ballot in 2026.6 These moves are not new; they are …