Some Remarks on the Legal Status of Human Embryo (original) (raw)
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The legal status of the human embryo
Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 2007
The contribution attempts to clarify the legal status of the human embryo according to basic principles of law by taking the German law as a model. Two decisions of the German Constitutional Court on abortion stipulate a constitutional right to life for every individual embryo. This inclusive interpretation of the respective articles of the German Constitution yields a principled verdict on elective abortions: according to the court, they are 'illegal, albeit not punishable'. A closer analysis, however, reveals that this ruling exhibits a self-destructive contradiction. It is shown that due to fundamental requirements of the validity of norms of law, elective abortions are legal under German law, regardless of how they are labelled. This true (as opposed to the merely alleged) legal situation is incompatible with a constitutional right to life of embryos. Hence, the question whether the ordinary law statutes regulating a comprehensive prohibition of preimplantation genetic diagnosis and of embryo research in Germany should be amended is not prejudiced by constitutional law. Ethical analysis shows that the protective duty we owe to early human embryos does not belong in the realm of the 'do no harm' principle, but corresponds to a prima facie duty of solidarity. This weak 'positive' obligation is amplified by considerations pertaining to the protection of the fundamental texture of our basic normative institutions. However, it can be outweighed by the conflicting obligations that society has vis-à-vis born human persons.
Is the human embryo legally defined and protected? Causes and consequences
Everyone's right to life shall be protected by law", states the article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights (1950). This article guarantees the protection of life of all persons. The human embryo, however, does not seem to be under the protection of this article, or, at least not always. The human embryo does not have a nature clearly defined and it is not considered always as person. The law protects only two categories by its ordinary regulations: things and persons. Our main objective is to find out if the human embryo is or not protected, according to the legal framework in Romania. The purpose of the paper is: (1) to familiarize professionals with current debate on the status of the human embryo; (2) to provide main legal standards and regulations concerning this specific area with examples from case reports;
Some Problems Related to the “Human Embryo” in the European Union Law
International conference KNOWLEDGE-BASED ORGANIZATION, 2016
The following article is dedicated to the topic of human dignity-the human embryos and the legal framework they are regulated by in the EU: The Charter of Fundamental Rights of European Union and the EU Court practice. For the purpose, the authors look first and foremost at the EU Directive 98/44, regulating the legal protection of biotechnological inventions which aim at balancing the human beings' dignity and integrity with the need to preserve the social function of patents as a vector for the competiveness of the European biotech industry. Two key EU Court cases are analyzed, both of which reflecting the evolution of the Court of Justice on the European Union's Case Law on Stem Cell Patents, namely Case C-34/10 Oliver Brüstle v Greenpeace е. V. and Case C-364/13 International Stem Cell Corporation. The article looks then at the European Citizens' Initiative "One of us", which aims at securing Juridical protection of the dignity, the right to life, as well as to the integrity of every human being from conception in those areas of EU competence where such protection has a particular importance.
EVROPSKÝ POLITICKÝ A PRÁVNÍ DISKURZ, 2020
The legal and bioethical problem of embryos destruction in the assisted reproductive technologies application on the example of the case Evans v. the United Kingdom of the European Court of Human Rights is explored in this article. Issues of legal and biological status of human embryos are considered. The important role of the dissenting opinion of the judge of the European Court of Human Rights in the protection of the human right to life before birth is emphasized. It is concluded that the content of the right to life must also be expanded to take into account the bioethical aspects of human rights. The proposals for the basic provisions of the draft Additional Protocol to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine for the Protection of Human Embryos and Fetuses are made.
Controversies on the protection of prenatal life through the perspective of European law
Competitiveness and Innovation in the Knowledge Economy, 2022
The purpose of this article is to present the well-reasoned legal situation of abortion under European law in order to examine, from the point of view of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court), whether the conception product is the right-holder of the right to life enshrined in Article 2 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) and, on this occasion, to grasp the position of the European instance on the legality of pregnancy interruption.
"Human Rights in Today’s Ethics: Human Rights of the Unborn (Embryos and Foetus)?"
Cuadernos Constitucionales de la Cátedra Fadrique Furio Ceriol, nº 62/63,
The consequences of recent advances in medical science and biologic technology are changing our understanding of personhood, human life and human being. The unborn, that is, the embryo and the foetus –until the end of the second month of pregnancy the unborn child is referred to as embryo and after the beginning of the third month as foetus– are in the centre of all this discussion. It’s almost impossible to separate our acknowledgments in the scientific field from our humanistic, moral and religious beliefs, since «[w]hat can be done turns into what will be done before there is time to ask what should be done».
This article aims to bear further discussion on the disputed legal issue that centres on identifying a possible ontological qualification of the embryo. Notably, this article explores how scientific research and various medical treatments can affect the legal status of embryos. We consider, from a comparative point of view, domestic and international legal orders as well as specific legal venues such as courts, to show how the law and judicial interpretation of it can interact as legal formants to influence the legal qualification of the embryo. This article considers the law as a mere legal venue for establishing a possible uniform ontological qualification of the embryo hinging on the concept of human dignity. In fact, human dignity, as opposed to legal formants, can be used to define the internal and external limits to a proper legal qualification of the embryo. This is because human dignity informs the discourse on 'life', and we term this approach as a predetermined and unqualified connotation of life itself. Indeed, this approach can now be used to construct a possible limit to any interference, modification, or evaluation that can directly affect the legal qualification of the embryo tout court.
Penal Protection of the Human Embryo. New Challenges for Romania
Curentul Juridic, The Juridical Current, Le Courant Juridique, 2014
The rapid developments in the last decades in the fields of biology and medicine raise important issues regarding the need to respect the human being both as an individual and in its membership in the human species. Medical acts performed both in research and in terms of curative work must be subordinated to a goal: the need to respect human dignity. In their desire to discover new treatments or just out of curiosity, biology and medicine can become instruments through an improper use, to endanger human dignity. At a global level it has been recognized that progress in biology and medicine should be used for the benefit of present and future generations, with different forms of international cooperation-oriented research and circumscribing the limits of human intervention. These generally accepted limits are guaranteeing human dignity regarded as the supreme social value, as well as the rights and freedoms of the individual. The advanced and increasingly accelerated recent scientific progress in biology and medicine-which, almost 40 years ago were considered simple topics of SF novels-have outlined a new area of research, namely sociological and legal Bioethics. Powered by joining two words of Greek origin-bios, life and ethos, ethics-Bioethics term would mean "moral of life". The field of action of bioethics includes the beginning and end of life issues (abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide, assisted reproduction), genetic manipulation, prenatal diagnosis, cloning, stem cell therapy, etc.. Bioethics takes a number of elements and principles from biology and medicine, from medical ethics, but also from other disciplines and fields such as philosophy, sociology, psychology, law, and, based on their principles, clarifies decisions and possible technical choices in biology, genetics and medicine. Technology has created new ethical problems. Artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, surrogate mother, and transplantation of human cells or tissues, genetic manipulation and cloning are all medical realities. There is no question WHETHER they can be made, but IF they must be made. In this study we take a peek of the historical perspective on the issue of the origin of life-birth / creation of human embryo-in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Then we tackle the issue of the need for legal protection of the human embryo and appropriateness of using specific tools of criminal law The legal protection of the human embryo is a complex and controversial topic that requires a foray into international documents-especially Oviedo Convention, a comparative analysis of the law of states that have played an important role in shaping the principles of
Re-defining the human embryo A legal perspective on the creation of embryos in research
EMBO Reports, 2024
The notion of the human embryo is not immutable. Various scientific and technological breakthroughs in reproductive biology have compelled us to revisit the definition of the human embryo during the past 2 decades. Somatic cell nuclear transfer, oocyte haploidisation and, more recently, human stem cell-derived embryo models have challenged this scientific term, which has both ethical and legal repercussions. Here, we offer a legal perspective to identify a universally accepted definition of ‘embryo’ which could help to ease and unify the regulation of such entities in different countries.