Effects of Cremation on Fetal Bones

The charring process is a weak point of anthropological analysis as it changes bone morphology and reduces information obtainable, specially in fetuses. This experiment aims at verifying the conservation of fetal bones after cremation. A total of 3138 fetuses of unknown sex and age were used, deriving from legal and therapeutic abortions from different hospitals of Milan. Cremations took place in modern crematoria. Nine cremation events were analyzed, each ranging from 57 to 915 simultaneously cremated fetuses. During the cremations, 4356 skeletal remains were recovered, 3756 of which (86.2%) were morphologically distinguishable. All types of fetal skeletal elements were found, with the exception of some cranial bones. Only 3.4% of individuals could be detected after the cremation process, because of the prevalence of abortions under 12 lunar weeks. All fire alterations were observed and the results were statistically analyzed. This pilot study confirmed the possibility of preservation of fetal skeletal elements after cremation.     

Fetal gunshot wound characteristics

Firearm injury in pregnant women is reported in the literature; however, no articles to date address the forensic analysis of the wounds sustained by the fetus. This is a report of a 40 weeks gestational age fetus who died following multiple perforating gunshot wounds, while his mother survived. The fetal wounds were atypical, consisting of irregular perforations with radiating linear lacerations and adjacent abrasions. The unusual wound pattern may have been due to the presence of interposed targets, the shoring of the fetus against itself and the uterine corpus, and the intrinsic character of fetal skin.     

The Concept of Fetal Rights

Law and Philosophy -     

胎儿地位的法哲学思考——以权利之概念分析为基础

胎儿地位问题是自罗马法以来倍受法学界关注的重要课题之一。对这一问题的探讨，必须以权利之概念分析作为基础。坚持“活着出生规则”为前提，采取概括保护与个别保护相结合的立法策略，应该作为我国民法保护胎儿利益的明智选择。     

秘密监听的事后救济问题解析

刑事侦查中秘密监听措施可弥补传统侦查手段的不足；但监听的采用又严重侵犯公民的通讯自由和隐私权。基于有权利必有救济的理念，对秘密监听行为应当进行事后救济。判断违法监听的标准包括客观标准和主观标准。结合域外经验和我国现实，秘密监听的救济制度包括告知、审查、对违法资料的处理及民事赔偿、国家赔偿、刑事追究等制度。     

Fetal death. A 10-year retrospective study

Fetal death has been defined by the World Health Organization as death before complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy. Certain causes of fetal death, including syphilis, Rh isoimmunization, toxemia, and diabetes, have shown significant declines over the past several decades. However, many fetal losses continue to occur from intrauterine infections, lethal malformations, fetal growth retardation, and abruptio placentae. Fetal death with no identifiable specific cause is another consideration when dealing with these cases. Other risk factors can include maternal, sociodemographic, and medical care factors. The authors reviewed all forensic cases referred for autopsy to the Forensic Section of the Medical University of South Carolina, Medical Examiners' Office over the 10-year period 1990-1999. All cases listed as fetal death or stillbirth were included. The 42 cases were analyzed as to fetus' gestational age, sex, race, weight, location of delivery, history of prenatal care, maternal drug use, chromosomal abnormalities, cause and manner of death, and autopsy findings. The black:white ratio was approximately 2:1, and the male:female ratio was virtually 1:1. Most fetuses were older than 20 weeks' gestational age, with one third between 20 and 29 weeks. The majority were externally normal aside from maceration. Only 7.5% had congenital anomalies. Twenty-one of 38 placentas were grossly and microscopically normal. Of cases with toxicologic analysis, 21% were positive for drugs, and 17% were positive for cocaine/benzoylecgonine. The manner of death was classified as natural (28), accident (2), and undetermined (12). Few studies have reported the specific causes of fetal death, and the lack of uniformity in data collection and classification of causes of fetal death has made comparisons difficult. The authors present this retrospective study to better determine the factors leading to fetal demise in the hope of assisting death investigators in this challenging arena.