In 2008 a pregnant woman who severely injured her baby in utero by driving recklessly was charged with murder when the baby died six-days after being born. After years of court cases, a New York Appeals court ruled that the baby wasn’t a baby–yes, even though it was alive and outside the mother for six days–and the woman cannot be charged with murder.

Seven years ago Jennifer Jorgensen, who was in the third trimester of her pregnancy, swerved her car into oncoming traffic and ran head long into another car. She killed the two people in the other vehicle and was herself seriously injured. Since her baby was in distress from the wreck doctors birthed the child by cesarian section. The baby lived for only six days before succumbing from injuries received in the crash.

Since the child died from its mother’s actions behind the wheel, the state charged Jorgensen with the murder of the child. Prosecutors reasoned that since the child died after it was born alive and since it died from injuries received in the accident, then Jorgensen was guilty of murder.