Is pregnancy a reason to be medically excused from jury duty?

Question

So I posted in another room asking for people's experiences with being called for jury duty while pregnant. I'll be a little over halfway through my 3rd trimester on the date I've been called and I was going to ask the court if I should or could be excused. Some have responded that they were excused for pregnancy or pregnancy related issues while others didn't feel it was a legitimate reason to be excused.
So I thought this would be a good topic for debate. Is pregnancy a legitimate reason to be excused from jury duty? Is there a cutoff date for pregnant women to be expected to serve? Or any other circumstances to be considered?

Answer

To me honest they probably won't pick you because of your pregnancy anyways. So I'd just go and get it over with so they can't call you again for a certain amount of time.

Answer

I was 8 months when I got summoned, I walked in and they asked if I was pregnant. I said yes and they didn't even ask how far along they told me I could leave!

Answer

Depends. Some trials go on for weeks so I would hear the case and maybe speak with the judge and lawyers privately to ask approximately how long the trial would last for. If I had a complication, I'd ask to be excused and I think right now at 35 weeks I would ask to be excused as he could really show up pretty much any time in the next 5-7 weeks.

Answer

I was in my first trimester when I was summoned and I showed up to the courthouse. I was literally all day there reading what to expect when you're expecting and they never even called me. They were just like ok everyone else go home. But there should be some info on your summons with regards to it. If I remember correctly mine said you could be excused if you're pregnant with a drs note and legit reasons or breastfeeding i think it was like 2 years ago so I don't really remember

Answer

I was excused when I was 7 months pregnant. But it was hard to get excused. I don't really get why it was so hard for me to be excused and I had a legitimate reason. People were lying left and right to be excused (Saying they were racist, or hate cops etc) 
I  feel it shouldn't be hard to be excused for pregnant women. For example, this was a murder trial I was called for and that's a lot of unnecessary stress in my opinion. 
 I had a doctors note and the judge didn't even want to see it. Needless to say I was very upset because I left my job related to all of the complications I had during pregnancy. There was an attorney present that was 8 months pregnant! But quite honestly, she would be used to murder trials and whatnot right? 
So he said it wasn't an excuse, but did he not understand that all pregnancies are different? I really wasn't feeling well. I tried to explain to him that I would need the restroom frequently related to sickness. 
I had an abdominal hernia and hyperemesis gravidarum (morning sickness the entire pregnancy) he said he would give me frequent breaks, but I tried to explain to him that's not how H.G works. It can happen at any time. Should I just vomit in the court room? I literally did not even know what to say. I didn't want to be disrespectful. 
The judge didn't believe me and still did not want to see my note. I had called my husband during a break and he was livid, he called my doctor. Even my doctor was livid! She had to call the judge and have me excused! All of this even after I tried to show him my note and Even after the defense attorney stated to the judge he did not want a woman this far into pregnancy on the jury. The judge later apologized to me. But it was still very upsetting. I cried every day driving to court because I felt so horrible. It was obvious others were lying just to get out of it, yet I had to jump through hoops. 😐

Answer

Well if you're in the last month, then i can see why you'd want to be excused, you could literally just pop in the court room. 
And some women are demanded to be on bedrest and/or have complications needing constant monitoring. 
Should those mentioned above be allowed to opt out? Absolutely. However someone at 7 months, with a healthy pregnancy maybe should just do it. 🤷🏼‍♀️ definitely situational !

Answer

Depends on circumstances...health and gestation of pregnancy.
Nature of case.
Expected length of proceedings.

But pregnancy shouldn't be an instant disqualification.

Answer

When you are pregnant you back hurts, you get nauseas easily, you need to eat really regularly, you need to pee really regularly, you can get tired really easily, stress (e.g. From hear a rape case) could effect your health very badly. There are so many reasons why doing jury duty while pregnant isn't easy or sometimes impossible

Answer

i would say if you're in your third trimester or if you're a high risk pregnancy you should be excused. I was in my 2nd trimester when I was excused. Last time I had jury duty my number was never called, I could have gone in this time hoping my number wouldn't be called but I want chancing it!

Answer

There's no harm in going and asking to be excused. Realistically, you're going to have to get up to pee a lot, which could be disruptive. Explain that you can get a bladder infection from holding it when you're pregnant which will endanger your baby. You also need 6 small meals per day since your stomach is squashed. You can't miss them or it can lower your blood sugar and harm baby. You need to drink lots of water, you will need lots of refills. Being begydrated causes lots of problems from low amniotic fluid volume to contractions and early labor. They can't keep you from drinking. Also you need to regularly get up to move your legs to send blood back to the heart to get pumped to baby and avoid blood clots, which pregnant women are at higher risk of getting. Lay down all the medical reasons why you have to do those things. They'll probably excuse you since it will be easier to have a fair trial without habit my to break for you to get up all the time to take care of your business.

Is pregnancy a reason to be medically excused from jury duty?

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