法律英语：07 Can Hospitals Ban Cameras。。。？

by Adam Freedman

Today’s topic: Cameras in the delivery room.
And now, your daily dose of legalese: This article does not create an attorney-client relationship with any listener. In other words, although I am a lawyer, I’m not your lawyer. If you need legal advice, contact an attorney in your community.
A reader writes in with the happy news that his wife is expecting a baby. They’d like to videotape the delivery of the baby, but their local hospital won’t allow them to, leading him to ask “Do patients have any legal rights to record their medical procedures?”
Can Hospitals Prohibit Cameras?
Great question! The short answer is that patients generally do not have any legal right to bring cameras into an operating room, although some lawmakers have been trying to change that. In the meantime, hospitals continue to crackdown on cameras in the delivery room for their own legal reasons, which I’ll explain in a minute.
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Back to the issue.
Where Can’t You Legally Take Pictures?
What could be more important, and more personal, than the birth of a child? As the reader’s question suggests, it just seems wrong that anyone could tell you whether or not you can videotape the event. How is it that hospitals can legally prohibit videotaping?
Think about it this way. When you’re in the hospital, you’re on someone else’s property. The general rule in the US is that a property owner can prohibit photography on the premises¹ – and that goes equally for hospitals.
You Can Take Pictures in a “Public Place”
You can, however, generally take pictures of anything visible from a public place. A “public place” includes things like a street, sidewalk, or public park, but does not include all government property. There are, for example, legal restrictions² on taking pictures or videos on military bases, nuclear facilities, the US Congress, and federal courts--so don’t schedule a delivery for any of those locations if you were hoping for a souvenir video.   If you’re walking down the sidewalk, feel free to take pictures of the outside of any hospital. But once you’re actually inside the hospital you have to respect its rules.
Videos Can Be Evidence in a Lawsuit³
Fair enough. But why is it that so many hospitals now prohibit cameras in the delivery room? The answer--according to various reports published over the last few years--is fear of lawsuits⁴. Here’s the problem. When babies are born with health problems, the parents sometimes sue the OB/GYN, or the hospital, or both alleging⁵ malpractice in the delivery. In these cases, the videotape becomes a piece of evidence that can be shown to juries.
Hospitals and doctors contend that it is unfair to use such videos because, to a jury of non-physicians, even a normal childbirth might look like malpractice given that birth can be a rather noisy, messy, and chaotic⁶ event.
Under the law of evidence, a judge does have the discretion⁷ to exclude evidence if he or she thinks it would unfairly influence the jury. But, as a practical matter, judges are reluctant to exclude evidence, and doctor advocates fear that the possibility of using videos will encourage frivolous⁸ lawsuits. On the other side, videotaping supporters argue that good doctors have nothing to fear from videos.
Parents Don’t Have Videotape Rights -- Yet
Legally, the only way to override⁹ the hospital’s right to ban cameras is to grant parents a superior right to videotape the delivery.   At least one lawmaker has tried to establish such a right. In 2001, a Texas state legislator introduced a bill that would have required hospitals and other health care providers to allow parents to record their child’s birth with videotape or other recording¹⁰ device. That bill, however, stalled out in committee and does not appear to have been reintroduced.   As far as I can tell, no state has actually established a parent’s right to film a baby’s delivery.
Parents Can Try to Negotiate With the Hospital
But remember, just because parents don’t have a legal right to video their child’s birth, that doesn’t mean that they can’t try to negotiate a deal with their hospital. Some hospitals still do allow cameras in the delivery room.   Before the big day, parents should ask their hospital about its policy on recording births. If you don’t like their policy, you can try to work out an exception, or shop around for a different hospital, as some parents do. Sometimes a little competition can do wonders!
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You can send questions and comments to。。。Please note that doing so will not create an attorney-client relationship and will be used for the purposes of this article only.
 

1 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

4 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

5 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

6 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

7 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

8 frivolous   

adj.轻薄的；轻率的

参考例句：

• This is a frivolous way of attacking the problem.这是一种轻率敷衍的处理问题的方式。
• He spent a lot of his money on frivolous things.他在一些无聊的事上花了好多钱。

9 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

10 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

11 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

12 roster   

n.值勤表，花名册

参考例句：

• The teacher checked the roster to see whom he would teach this year.老师查看花名册，想了解今年要教的学生。
• The next day he put himself first on the new roster for domestic chores.第二天，他把自己排在了新的家务值日表的第一位。