N.J. Doctors May Avoid Detailing Abortion

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that doctors who offer abortions are not required to inform those patients that a human life will be ending.

In response to a lawsuit filed by a woman from Somerset County, N.J., the state’s top court ruled unanimously that doctors should not be required to tell abortion patients that the procedure kills a human being, The (N.J.) Star-Ledger said.

We know of no common law duty requiring a physician to instruct the woman that the embryo is an ‘existing human being,’ and suggesting that an abortion is tantamount to murder Â… There is no basis for this court to create a new duty that has no broad support in either the medical community or society, Justice Barry Albin wrote in the decision.

The case stemmed from a lawsuit by a 29-year-old woman, who is suing her doctor for allegedly misinforming her regarding the developmental status of her fetus.

The ruling supported an initial court decision that the case should be thrown out, the newspaper said.