Depriving women of their right to know
Thursday, September 20, 2007
By RICHARD F. COLLIER Jr.

LAST WEEK, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided that patients are not entitled to truthful answers when they ask doctors direct questions about medical procedures.

When Rosa Acuna learned she was six weeks to eight weeks pregnant, she asked if she was carrying a baby at that stage. Her doctor replied that her fetus was "not a living human being," but rather "just tissue at this time." As a result, Rosa agreed to an abortion.

'She suffered emotional distress upon discovering later that the abortion had indeed killed an existing human being. While expressing sympathy for Rosa's "deep pain," the court dismissed her claim against the doctor.

The court conceded that doctors must disclose all information that a reasonably prudent patient would find material before deciding to undergo a medical procedure. What could be more material than the one direct question the patient finds important enough to ask? the rest