The lawyers were defending the hospital in a wrongful death lawsuit that stemmed from the tragic death of Lori Stodghill, 31, at the St Thomas More Hospital in 2006. She was seven months pregnant with twins, who also died. Her husband, Jeremy Stodghill, sued the hospital and its owner, Catholic Health Initiatives, for the wrongful deaths of all three.
Defence lawyers said that under state law, an embryo is not a person until the baby is born alive, according to court documents. The court agreed with the argument, and Mr Stodghill lost the suit.
Critics of the hospital pointed out that the Catholic Church believes that unborn children are persons.
Mark Silk, Professor of Religion and Politics at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, wrote in his blog "Spiritual Politics": "every now and then you ought to demonstrate your bona fides by acting on principle against your material interests."