A pregnant woman was rushed to the emergency room after a car accident, the new abortion laws have been enacted in this particular State, and the hospital lawyers sent an emergency request to the State's superior court for an injunction to operate on the pregnant woman, to help her survive the trauma, within 48 hours the hospital got the ruling that they were authorized to operate on the woman (99% certainty that the fetus would not survive -- hence the ruling), the mother in law's lawyers got an injunction to stop the operation, 24 hours later the court agreed with the lower court, but by then both mother and child had died.
The short-term impact, the legal dispute cost about $50,000 in legal fees and processing, (both the original emergency request and the injunction). But the hospital and the doctor were in the clear as they had sought permission from the courts, the family lost both mother and child and also got a nice emergency room bill for about $240,000.
I hear about this case because of the "insurance" angle. The requirement for the court order was entirely driven by Lloyds of London because they told American insurers that they would no longer provide coverage for lawsuits, which would arise from these new (and badly drafted) abortion bans. The States have decided to write incomplete legislation assuming that life is simple and linear. Lloyds, which provides re-insurance has told the US insurance industry that coverage for such gray aspects of the new laws would no longer be covered in their re-insurance policies.
In a sense, the entire insurance industry is washing its hands of the problem, and leaving American consumers and courts to figure out their own solution. With the two court cases, the hospital was lawsuit-proof. Especially when the mother-in-law sought the injunction. The entirely preventable outcome is destroyed by stupidity.
The take-home from all this is clear, the re-insurance market is no longer willing to pay the cost of America's idiotic laws and has forced US insurance companies to seek immediate legal clarification before they allow hospitals and doctors to act.
Why does no one hear about these things, mainly no one looks good, nor does the hospital, doctors or family. As for the legislators, well par for the course really. Seriously, what would the family say, "My mom forced the hospital to let my wife and daughter die".
Note: I know about this because my contacts are Lloyds. It was one of several hundred cases of legal jeopardy arising in the US healthcare system. The comment my friends got was that the US insurers were happy to dump the whole thing on the US courts. Plus doctors although reluctant have no choice, 3 to 5 years in prison for non-court-approved abortion...of any kind (such as a life-saving operation on the mother). Life is full of irony.
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