Columbia University Press Fetal Protection in the Workplace: Women's Rights, Business Interests, and the Unborn

This thoughtful book grapples with the contentious issue of fetal protection policy in the workplace, contrasting the right of the mother to control her life against the right of the fetus to occupy a risk-free environment. By describing the history of sex discrimination in the American workplace and examining current research on workplace dangers to reproductive health, Blank critically assesses fetal protection policies established by corporations in the last two decades. After explaining the U.S. government's response--both regulatory and judicial--Blank concludes that current means of redress for fetal injuries in the workplace are woefully inadequate. Blank argues for a practicable strategy that will maximize women's employment choices and reproductive health and at the same time keep to a minimum the risks associated with fetal harm. He turns to alternatives to exclusionary policies that are more likely to ensure the birth of children with sound minds and bodies. These include increased maternal leaves, guaranteed prenatal care, expanded research on workplace hazards, and an accidental compensation fund that relieves employers of the yet unrealized fear of liability for fetal harm. Fetal Protection in the Workplace confronts a controversial topic in biomedical policy, law, and women's studies, provides clear suggestions for future policy options, and explains this ongoing conflict involving women's rights and employment and concern for the needs of the unborn.