Fetal protection policies in the United States are various

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

rules intended to protect women's

reproductive health Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, healthcare, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's reproductive system and sexual wellbeing during all stages of their life. The term can also be further de ...

and the health of developing

fetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal dev ...

es in the workplace. These policies have evolved in response to the nature of many modern businesses, which use toxic chemicals or ionizing radiation during ordinary business and production activities. These policies have also evolved based on the liability a given business entity might incur, for example, for causing sterility or damage to an otherwise healthy fetus during pregnancy. These policies were highlighted in the national media in the early 1990s when the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed a lower federal appellate court's decision in '' UAW v. Johnson Controls, Inc.''. Also, scholarly journals have discussed these policies before and after the ''Johnson Controls'' case. The

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

held that these policies violate

Title VII The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requi ...

of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 by promoting

gender discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...

References

Further reading