Decision that unborn child entitled to death cert is withheld

A coroner’s decision that an unborn child who died when her pregnant mother was involved in a car crash is entitled a death certificate, has been withheld.

The child’s family has indicated it wants to have the matter ruled on by the High Court.

In his statement at the inquest on Monday of Mary Enright, her unborn daughter, Mollie Enright, and Robert Stoker, in Clonmel, Paul Morris – coroner for South Tipperary – reviewed the law in relation to the matter.

He decided that Mollie, as a matter of law, was entitled to be deemed as having been born when she was separated from the body of her mother during the autopsy in University Hospital, Waterford, in the wake of the car crash.

In coming to his decision, he reviewed the law here, including the Constitutional provisions in relation to the unborn. He said that, on one interpretation of what had happened, Mollie had not been “born” and therefore was not entitled to be entered in the register of deaths.

He noted that the 2004 Civil Registration Act contains an unhelpful definition of birth in that it only states that birth is not a still birth. He said that when he had discussed the matter beforehand with the pathologist, Robert Landers, Mr Landers had suggested that Mollie had been born when her body was separated from that of her mother in the course of the autopsy.

He said that looking at what occurred during the autopsy, it could be considered that the separation from the mother’s body was a birth, and that the subsequent decision that Mollie was dead, justified a death certificate.

Mollie’s family had a baptismal certificate for her and a burial certificate, and her death would be recorded in the road traffic statistics. If her death could not be registered, they would consider it a breach of Mollie’s constitutional rights as provided for in Article 40.3.3, Mr Morris noted. The article guarantees the rights of the unborn and as far as is practicable, guarantees in its law to defend those rights.

Having reviewed the law here and elsewhere, Mr Morris said he had little doubt but that if the 2004 act inhibited the registration of Mollie’s death, then that would be a breach of her family’s constitutional rights in the light of the Mollie’s constitutional status as an unborn child, and the constitutional status of the family.

However, he decided that the 2004 law in fact allowed for the certification of Mollie’s death in the circumstances of the case. The removal of a non-living foetus from the mother in the context of an autopsy was a birth in the meaning of the act.

Because of the family’s desire to have the matter ruled on by the High Court by way of a case stated, the ruling was withheld. Coroners are not able to refer cases for rulings on points of law, to the High Court.

Ms Enright was 33 weeks’ pregnant when her car collided with that being driven by Mr Stoker, near Bansha, Co Tipperary, on March 26th, 2012.

The inquest heard evidence that Mr Stoker’s car veered across the road into the incorrect lane just before the collision.