European court of human rights rulings in home birth set to cause trouble for the future: A review of two cases

The safety of home birth is widely debated. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) recently made two conflicting rulings on home birth, 'Ternovszky v Hungary' and 'Dubska and Krejzova v the Czech Republic'. In 'Ternovszky v Hungary', the ECtHR essentially forced Hungary to change existing legislation to allow home birth. In contrast, in 'Dubska' and 'Krejzova v the Czech Republic', the Court found Czech Republic's stringent regulations against home birth acceptable. We describe these cases, the different evidence used and interpreted by the court and examine the ethical conflict between maternal autonomy and the rights of the newborn.