patient's desires must be adhered to if they are deemed competent. Civil Suit At the same time as the Court of Appeals case, the ACLU and Carder's parents, Daniel and Nettie Stoner, instituted a civil action, Stoners v. George Washington University Hospital, et al., suing the hospital for deprivation of human rights, discrimination, wrongful death and malpractice, among other charges. In November 1990, days before the scheduled trial was to begin, the hospital settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money and a promise of new hospital policies protecting the rights of pregnant women. See also Pemberton v. Tallahassee Memorial Regional Center In re Fetus Brown, 689 N.E.2d 397, 400 (Ill. App. Ct. 1997) (overturning a court-ordered blood transfusion of a pregnant woman) In re Baby Boy Doe, 632 N.E.2d 326 (Ill. App. Ct. 1994) (holding that courts may not balance whatever rights a fetus may have against the rights of a competent woman, whose choice to refuse medical treatment as invasive as a cesarean section must be honored even if the choice may be harmful to the fetus). Stallman v. Youngquist, 531 N.E.2d 355, 359-61 (Ill. 1988) (refusing to recognize the tort of maternal prenatal negligence, holding that granting fetuses legal rights in this manner "would involve an unprecedented intrusion into the privacy and autonomy of the [state's female] citizens"). Use of restraints on pregnant women Notes References Gallagher, Janet. Prenatal Invasions & Interventions: What's Wrong with Fetal Rights, Harvard Women's Law Journal, Volume 9, 1987. Gellman, Barton. Agreement in D.C. Affirms Medical Rights of Pregnant Women, Washington Post, Nov. 19, 1990. Thorton, Terry E. & Paltrow, Lynn. The Rights of Pregnant Patients:Carder Case Brings Bold Policy Initiatives, Health Span, Jan. 31, 1991. George Annas. Letter to the Editor, The New England Journal of Medicine, May 7, 1987. Annas, George. Foreclosing the Use of Force: A.C. Reversed, Hastings Center Report., July/Aug., 1990. Annas, George. She's Going to Die: The Case of Angela C., Hastings Center Report, Feb/Mar., 1988. External links Laura Pemberton: Speaking on Her Experience of a Court-ordered Cesarian Surgery United States reproductive rights case law 1990 in United States case law Legal issues in pregnancy