PROTECTING THE INNOCENT: RIGHTS OF UNBORN TAKING PRECEDENCE *MOTHERS HELD LIABLE FOR BEHAVIOR WHILE PREGNANT.(Main)

Byline: John Caher Staff writer

The rights of pregnant women and their fetuses are on a legal collision course as courts increasingly view the mother-to-be and unborn baby as separate individuals with competing interests.

In the last four years, women have been forced to undergo Caesarean sections, jailed for failing to obey their obstetrician's advice and convicted of passing illegal drugs to a minor in utero. These developments have alarmed many civil libertarians who fear that the rights and interests of pregnant women are forgotten in a frenzy to safeguard the health of the fetus.

"The basic issue is who gets to control the pregnancy, the state or the woman," said Katheryn D. Katz, a family law expert and professor at Albany Law School. Katz and Associate Professor Serena Stier moderated a symposium at the law school Friday on maternal-fetal conflict.

"In the legal community, the fight gets down to whether some behavior of a pregnant woman should be criminal - behavior that isn't criminal for anyone else," Katz said.

Among the questions being asked are:

*Should pregnant women be legally prevented from smoking or drinking alcohol, both of which have been shown to have an adverse affect on the fetus?

*Can the government force a woman with a chronic condition such as diabetes to carefully monitor her own health so as not to endanger her unborn child?

*What, if anything, should the criminal justice system do about women who abuse narcotics, particularly …