Mother fined over baby's death

Choke

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8032780.stm

A court in Dubai has found a woman who lost her unborn child in a traffic accident guilty of manslaughter in what is said to be an unprecedented ruling. The Lebanese woman, who was nine months pregnant at the time, was also ordered to pay blood money. She said she had not caused the accident.
The judge based the ruling on Islamic law. The court said the rights of unborn babies needed to be protected.
Prosecutors had argued that the verdict should act as a deterrent.
The accident happened in October last year. The court found that she had failed to keep a safe distance from the car ahead of her.
Several cars were involved in the accident, English-language daily The National reports. The paper says the woman's vehicle was hit by the car following hers when she braked suddenly.
The female foetus died after the umbilical cord was cut.
Dubai's traffic court ordered the bereaved mother to pay US$5,450 in blood money and fined her for "unintentional homicide".
Salah Bu Farousha, head of traffic prosecution, said women in the third trimester of pregnancy should avoid driving altogether to protect their own and their foetuses' lives.

Tbh, when I initially read this I thought it was insane.

But if you read the story, it's obvious the baby dies after she went into labour and delivered it. So she was nine months pregnant, with a viable pregnancy, she gets in a car crash due to her dangerous driving, the child is born and dies.
Why shouldn't there be punishment - after all, had the baby been born, and travelling in the car with her, she probably would have been charged with a criminal offence.

Thoughts?

Chinafoot

Choke wrote: »

it's obvious the baby dies after she went into labour and delivered it.

The article says the child was unborn. I took the phrase "after the umbilical cord was cut" to mean that it was cut as a result of the accident, so the child died in the womb.

Could be wrong though.

Choke

Chinafoot wrote: »

The article says the child was unborn. I took the phrase "after the umbilical cord was cut" to mean that it was cut as a result of the accident, so the child died in the womb.

Could be wrong though.

Ahhh, I never thought of that interpretation.

Das Kitty

Where are you getting the death after birth bit? The umbillical cord was severed by the impact, the baby died in utero.

It's a load of ****e. Was anyone else fined for causing the baby's death? Or were the other drivers all men?

Stercus Accidit

The sooner we can live without the oil the better.

Overheal

Choke wrote: »

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8032780.stm

Tbh, when I initially read this I thought it was insane.

But if you read the story, it's obvious the baby dies after she went into labour and delivered it. So she was nine months pregnant, with a viable pregnancy, she gets in a car crash due to her dangerous driving, the child is born and dies.
Why shouldn't there be punishment - after all, had the baby been born, and travelling in the car with her, she probably would have been charged with a criminal offence.

Thoughts?

Fascinating scenario to be perfectly honest.

Unfortunately, this is going to open up the Abortion/Fetus Right-to-Life debate again.

/sigh

Stercus Accidit

Overheal wrote: »

Fascinating scenario to be perfectly honest.

Unfortunately, this is going to open up the Abortion/Fetus Right-to-Life debate again.

/sigh

How would it? The woman was in a car accident and convicted under sharia law, I doubt abortion will see the light of day in this thread.

Overheal

Stercus Accidit wrote: »

How would it? The woman was in a car accident and convicted under sharia law, I doubt abortion will see the light of day in this thread.

I should explain my rationale for that. But im afraid to. Because I know if I explain it, it will launch the Abortion debate again. And we just had one in like what, November? Do you have any idea how cyclical and tiresome those debates are?

/ugh

Well, because, if the Pro-Life advocacy wants to continue to defend the rights of the Unborn Child, it almost seems to fall in line that such a law would be passed, that not only protects the interests of the child with regard to an abortion, but the rights of the unborn child to other forms of neglect. In this case because the mother was guilty of causing the car accident.

Because, after all, if you are Pro-Life/Anti-Abortion, why should your activism/desire to protect the rights of unborn children extend only to protection from abortions? Wouldnt an unborn child be entitled to other rights and protections?

Wazdakka

Stercus Accidit wrote: »

How would it? The woman was in a car accident and convicted under sharia law, I doubt abortion will see the light of day in this thread.

<_<

>_>

Abortions for some... Mini Irish Flags for others...

Cookie_Monster

TBH, that what you get for letting women drive.

Inevitable, it was

biko

Several cars were involved in the accident, English-language daily The National reports. The paper says the woman's vehicle was hit by the car following hers when she braked suddenly.

Wouldn't the person in the car behind be the cause of the miscarriage then? S/He also failed to keep a safe distance to the car in front.
Islamic law seems fairly arbitrary.

stovelid

Good job there was a fine imposed as punishment here.

Having to live with the death of her baby just wouldn't have cut the mustard really.

davyjose

Stercus Accidit wrote: »

The sooner we can live without the oil the better.

Actually, Dubai is not that oil rich - most of its wealth comes from Tourism and trade.

WindSock

davyjose wrote: »

Actually, Dubai is not that oil rich - most of its wealth comes from Tourism and trade.

That's mad. Why the hell would so many visit that place? It's not that great. If it's for the shopping, I would pick New York over it any day.

It's probably more Arabs than westerners though that visit.

From Wiki:

The emirate's main revenues are from tourism, property and financial services.[7] Although Dubai's economy was originally built on the oil industry,[8] revenues from petroleum and natural gas currently contribute less than 6% (2006)[9] of the emirate's US$ 80 billion economy (2009).[10] Property and construction contributed 22.6% to the economy in 2005, before the current large-scale construction boom.[11]

WindSock

A miscarriage of justice!

4zn76tysfajdxp

Where were the parents, eh?

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Don't suppose any mod has the balls to move this to the Ladies' Lounge...?!

SV

"The judge based the ruling on Islamic law. "

Yeah! Nice one!
fúcking hell..

WindSock

Well at least if it were in Saudi Arabia, she would have been 'protected' from this sort of thing :rolleyes:

Although she would probably still get a fine for deciding on being a passenger in her husbands car or some other nonsense.

SV

WindSock wrote: »

Well at least if it were in Saudi Arabia, she would have been 'protected' from this sort of thing :rolleyes:

Although she would probably still get a fine for deciding on being a passenger in her husbands car or some other nonsense.

or just fined for being a woman.
it seems to be the general approach with this sort.

extra-ordinary_

SV wrote: »

"The judge based the ruling on Islamic law. "

...which seems to be...If you're driving a car along a road in Dubai and another car rear-ends you, then it's your fault.:eek:??????

SV

extra-ordinary_ wrote: »

...which seems to be...If you're driving a car along a road in Dubai and another car rear-ends you, then it's your fault.:eek:??????

if you're a woman yep

kowloon

Not trying to stir the **** here, but is driving wise for someone that far into a pregnancy?

Wazdakka

Just because the majority of us think that this ruling is unacceptable and an outrage doesn't make it wrong.

We live in our society with our own values.
They live in theirs.

Just because we have been raised with values that could be morally outraged by this kind of decision, we have no right to judge them for making it.

Shivers26

kowloon wrote: »

Not trying to stir the **** here, but is driving wise for someone that far into a pregnancy?

It is fine as long as its safe. Its not always practical because the bump gets in the way towards the end.

So she was fined because her baby died as the result of a car accident? Would she have been fined if the baby had died because she tripped and fell down stairs? Should pregnant women avoid, stiars now or crowds or the bus or going to work in case they are involved in some kind of incident that results in the death of the child.

As if the loss of the child wasnt bad enough. Absolute madness.

connundrum

Who did she pay the 'Blood money' fine to? Herself?!