Catholic Health Initiatives-Iowa, a faith-based health care provider, is arguing in a medical malpractice case that the loss of an unborn child does not equate to the death of a “person” for the purpose of calculating damage awards.

In Iowa, court-ordered awards for noneconomic losses stemming from medical malpractice are capped at $250,000, except in cases that entail the “loss or impairment of mind or body.”

Attorneys for the CHI and MercyOne hospital are arguing the cap on damages still applies in cases where the “loss” is that of a fetus or unborn child.

CHI’s status as a nonprofit, tax-exempt entity is based on its stated mission of providing health services “in the spirit of the gospel.” The ethics guidelines it approved in 2018 state that the corporation is committed to “respect the sacredness of every human life from the moment of conception until death.”