Fetal rights

Fetal rights are the moral rights or legal rights of the human fetus under natural and civil law. The term fetal rights came into wide usage after the landmark case Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion in the United States in 1973.[1] The concept of fetal rights has evolved to include the issues of maternal drug and alcohol abuse.[2] The only international treaty specifically tackling fetal rights is the American Convention on Human Rights which envisages the right to life of the fetus. While international human rights instruments lack a universal inclusion of the fetus as a person for the purposes of human rights, the fetus is granted various rights in the constitutions and civil codes of several countries. Many legal experts believe there is an increasing need to settle the legal status of the fetus.[1]

History

In antiquity, the fetus was sometimes protected by restrictions on abortion. Some versions of the Hippocratic Oath indirectly protected fetus by prohibiting abortifacients.[3] Until approximately the mid-19th century, philosophical views on the fetus were influenced in part by Aristotelian concept of delayed hominization.[4] According to it, human fetuses only gradually acquire their souls, and in the early stages of pregnancy the fetus is not fully human.[4] Relying on examinations of miscarried fetuses, Aristotle believed that male fetuses acquire their basic form at around day 40, and female ones at day 90.[4] For Pythagoreans, however, fetal life was co-equal in moral worth with adult human life from the moment of conception; similar views were held by Stoics.[5] Ancient Athenian law did not recognise fetal right to life before the ritual acknowledgement of the child.[6] The law, however, allowed to postpone the execution of sentenced pregnant women until a baby was delivered.[7]

Several Hindu texts on ethics and righteousness, such as Dharmaśāstra, give fetus a right to life from conception, although in practice such texts are not always followed.[8]

The property law of the Roman Empire granted fetus inheritance rights.[9] As long as the fetus was conceived before the testator's death (usually, the father) and then born alive, their inheritance rights were equal to those born before the testator's death.[9] Even though under the Roman law the fetus was not a legal subject, it was a potential person whose property rights were protected after birth.[9] Roman jurist Ulpian noted, that "in the Law of the Twelve Tables he who was in the womb is admitted to the legitimate succession, if he has been born".[10] Another jurist Julius Paulus Prudentissimus similarly noted, that "the ancients provided for the free unborn child in such a way that they preserved for it all legal rights intact until the time of birth".[10] The inheritance rights of the fetus were means of fulfilling the testator's will.[9] The interests of the fetus could be protected by a custodian, usually a male relative, but in some cases a woman herself could be appointed the custodian.[11] The Digest granted the fetus consanguinity rights,[12] vesting the protection of fetal interests in the praetor. The Digest also prohibited the execution of pregnant women until delivery.[13] The Roman law also envisaged that if a slave mother had been free for any period between the time of the conception and childbirth, the child would be regarded as born free.[14] Although the mother might have become slave again before the childbirth, it was considered that the unborn should not be prejudiced by the mother's misfortune.[14] At the same time, Greek and Roman sources do not mention issues of alcohol consumption by pregnant women.[15] On that basis it is believed that Greeks and Romans were not aware of the fetal alcohol syndrome.[15]

A baby holding the "Petition of the Unborn Babes", 18th century illustration.

After the spread of Christianity an issue emerged on whether it was permissible for a pregnant woman to be baptised before childbirth, due to uncertainty as to whether the fetus would be cobaptised with its mother. The Synod of Neo-Caesarea decided that the baptism of a pregnant woman in any stage of gestation did not include the fetus.[16] In the Middle Ages, fetal rights were closely associated with the concept of ensoulment. In some cases the fetus could also inherit or be in the order of succession. In the Byzantine Empire, fetus was regarded as a natural person and could inherit alongside blood descendants and slaves.[17] Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos allowed soldiers to transfer their pronoiai to their unborn children.[18] The unborn royals were increasingly granted the right to succession. In 1284, King of Scotland Alexander III designated his future unborn children as heirs presumptive by the act of parliament to avoid potential squabbles among loyal descendants of his lineage.[19] The 1315 entail of Scottish king Robert the Bruce allowed the unborn collateral individuals to be in line for the throne beyond his brother Edward and daughter Marjorie Bruce.[19] After the death of Albert II of Germany in 1439, his then-unborn son Ladislaus the Posthumous inherited his father's sovereign rights.[20] In 1536, the British Parliament gave the unborn children of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour precedence in the line of royal succession.[21] The medieval distinction between the ensouled and the unensouled fetus was removed after Pope Pius IX decreed in 1854 that the ensoulment of Virgin Mary occurred at conception.[22]

In 1751, a pamphlet "The Petition of the Unborn Babes to the Censors of the Royal College of Physicians of London" by physician Frank Nicholls was published, advocating fetal right to life and protection. The pamphlet anticipated many of the arguments of the 21st century's pro-life movement.[23] In 1762, English jurist and judge William Blackstone wrote that an "infant in its mother's womb" could benefit from a legacy and receive an estate as if it were actually bom.[24] The fetus was thus considered a person for purposes of inheritance.[24] Similarly to the Roman law, the Napoleonic Code envisaged that if a woman becomes a widow, a male guardian should be appointed for her unborn child.[25]

In the 20th century and particularly after World War II fetal rights issues continued to develop. In 1948, the Declaration of Geneva was adopted which prior to amendments in 1983 and 2005, advised physicians to "maintain the utmost respect for human life from the time of its conception".[26] In 1967, American Bar Association Journal noted "the modern trend of legal decisions that grant every property and personal right to the unborn child, including the right to life itself, from conception on".[27] In 1975, while interpreting the right to life under the Basic Law of Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court opined that "life in the sense of historical existence of a human individual" exists "at least from the 14th day after conception (nidation, individuation)" and thus everyone's right to life under the Basic Law of Germany includes the unborn as human beings.[28] The 1980s witnessed the reappearance of fetal protection in the workplace, aimed at guarding fetal health in potentially hazardous working conditions.[29] In 1983, Ireland was one of the first countries in the world to constitutionalize a fetal right to life by passing the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, later repealed in September 2018.[30]

Modern regulations

The only modern international treaty specifically tackling the fetal rights is the American Convention on Human Rights which envisages the fetal right to life from the moment of conception.[31] The convention was ratified by twenty five countries of the Americas (two countries later denounced the convention leading the current number of ratifiers to be twenty three [32])[lower-alpha 1] in 1973–1993. Mexico ratified the convention with the reservation that the expression "in general" concerning the fetal right to life does not constitute an obligation and that this matter falls within the domain of the states.[34] While the convention may be interpreted to permit domestic abortion laws in exceptional circumstances, it effectively declares the fetus a person.[34] However, only a minority of state ratifiers completely prohibit abortion without allowing for an exception when the pregnant woman's life is in danger (Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Nicaragua).[35]

Based on the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child, preambular paragraph 9 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) states that "the child... needs... appropriate legal protection before as well as after birth", but due to ambiguity the legal protection of the fetus conflicts with the rights of a pregnant girl under the same Convention.[36] Such conflict is sometimes called maternal-fetal conflict.[37] Under CRC, the rights of a pregnant girl are interpreted as superseding those of her fetus.[36] The states retain the power to decide for themselves what prenatal legal protection they would adopt under CRC.[38] A proposal to grant fetus the right to life from conception was put forward by Belgium, Brazil, El Salvador, Mexico and Morocco during drafting of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), but it was rejected in favor of less stringent wording.[39] At the same time, ICCPR prohibits the execution of pregnant women.[40]

The World Medical Association Declaration on Therapeutic Abortion notes that "circumstances bringing the interests of a mother into conflict with the interests of her unborn child create a dilemma and raise the question as to whether or not the pregnancy should be deliberately terminated".[41] The Dublin Declaration on Maternal Health, signed in 2012, prioritizes fetal right to life by noting that "there is a fundamental difference between abortion, and necessary medical treatments that are carried out to save the life of the mother, even if such treatment results in the loss of life of her unborn child".[42] Several organizations, such as World Health Organization (WHO) and Human Rights Watch prioritize women's reproductive rights over fetal rights.[43]

Under European law, fetus is generally regarded as an in utero part of the mother and thus its rights are held by the mother.[44] The European Court of Human Rights opined that the right to life does not extend to fetuses under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).[44] In H. v. Norway, the European Commission did not exclude that "in certain circumstances" the fetus may enjoy "a certain protection under Article 2, first sentence".[45] Three European Union member states (Ireland, Hungary and Slovakia) grant the fetus the constitutional right to life. The Constitution of Norway grants the unborn royal children the right of succession to the throne.[46] In English common law, fetus is granted inheritance rights under the born alive rule.[44]

Islamic law grants the fetus the right to life particularly after ensoulment, which according to various Islamic jurists happens after 40–42 days or four months after conception[47] (some Shiite jurists believe the ensoulment occurs after 11 to 14 days, during the implantation of the fertilized egg in the uterine wall).[48] Both the Sunni and Shiite jurists accord the fetus inheritance rights under two conditions: if a man dies and a pregnant wife survives him, the fetal right to inherit is secure and the inheritance cannot be disposed of before the fetus' share is set aside.[48] Under the second condition, if a woman aborts the fetus at any stage and ignores any vital signs, the fetus is entitled to the inheritance of any legitimate legator who dies after its conception.[48]

The legal debate on fetal rights sometimes invokes the notion of fetal viability.[49] Its primary determinant is fetal lung capacity which typically develops at twenty-three to twenty-four weeks.[49] The twenty-three weeks is usually regarded as the lower bound of fetal viability because technology has been unable to surpass the limit set by lung development.[49] It was nonetheless stated that technology has made it possible to regard the fetus as a patient independent of the mother.[1] In Winnipeg Child and Family Services v. G., the judges argued that "technologies like real-time ultrasound, fetal heart monitors and foetoscopy can clearly show us that the fetus is alive" and thus the born alive rule is "outdated and indefensible".[50]

The creation of human embryos for all research purposes is prohibited by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine. However, similarly to the abortion debate, in the normative debate on embryo research two views can be distinguished: a "fetalist" view focusing on the moral value of the embryo, and a "feminist" view advocating the interests of women, particularly candidate oocyte donors.[51]

Fetal rights by country

Country	Constitutional protection of fetal rights		Recognition of personhood
Canada	No		No	223. When child becomes human being[52]A child becomes a human being within the meaning of this Act when it has completely proceeded, in a living state, from the body of its mother , whether or not: (a) it has breathed; (b) it has an independent circulation; or (c) the navel string is severed.
Chile	Yes	Article 19[53] The Constitution guarantees all persons: 1.The right to life and to the physical and mental integrity of the person. The law protects the life of the unborn.	Yes
Dominican Republic	Yes	Article 37[54]The right to life is inviolable from conception until death. The death penalty may not be established, pronounced, nor applied in any case.	Yes
Ecuador	Yes	Article 45[55]Children and adolescents shall enjoy the rights that are common to all human beings, in addition to those that are specific to their age. The State shall recognize and guarantee life, including care and protection from the time of conception.	Yes
El Salvador	Yes	Article 1[56]El Salvador recognizes the human person as the origin and the end of the activity of the State, which is organized to attain justice, judicial security, and the common good. In that same manner, it recognizes as a human person every human being since the moment of conception.	Yes
Guatemala	Yes	Article 3[57]The State guarantees and protects the human life from its conception, as well as the integrity and security of the person.	Yes
Hungary	Yes	Article 2[58]Human dignity shall be inviolable. Every human being shall have the right to life and human dignity; the life of the foetus shall be protected from the moment of conception.	Yes
Honduras	Yes	Article 67[59]The unborn shall be considered as born for all rights accorded within the limits established by law.	Yes
Madagascar	Yes	Article 19[60]The State recognizes and organizes for all individuals the right to the protection of health from their conception through the organization of free public health care, which gratuitousness results from the capacity of the national solidarity.	Yes
Peru	Yes	Article 2.[61]To life, his identity, his moral, psychical, and physical integrity, and his free development and well-being. The unborn child is a rights-bearing subject in all cases that benefit him.	Yes
Philippines	Yes	Section 12[62] The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception.	Yes
Slovakia	Yes	Article 15[63]1. Everyone has the right to life. Human life is worthy of protection already before birth.	Yes
Solomon Islands	No		Yes[64]

1. Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago (denounced), Uruguay and Venezuela (denounced).[33]

United States President George W. Bush signs the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004

The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland gave "the unborn" a right to life equal to that of "the mother".[65] In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that the fetus' only inherent constitutionally protected right is the right to be born, overturning a High Court ruling that a fetus additionally possessed the children's rights guaranteed by Article 42A of the Constitution.[66] On 25 May 2018, a referendum was passed[67] which amended the Constitution by the substitution of the former provision recognising the right to life of the unborn, with one permitting the Oireachtas, the Irish Parliament, to legislate for the termination of pregnancies.[68] This amendment took effect when it was signed into law by the President of Ireland on 18 September 2018, and abortion was governed by the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 until it was replaced and repealed by the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, which took effect on 1 January 2019.

In the United States, as of 2014, thirty-eight states provide certain level of criminal protection for the unborn, and twenty-three of these states have laws that protect the fetus from conception until birth.[69] All US states–by statute, court rule or case law–permit a guardian ad litem to represent the interests of the unborn.[70] In 1999, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act was introduced into United States Congress which defines violent assault committed against pregnant women as being a crime against two victims: the woman and the fetus she carries.[71] This law was passed in 2004 after the murder of Laci Peterson and the fetus she was carrying. In 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush announced a plan to ensure health care coverage for fetuses under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).[72]

The civil codes of several countries, such as China (including Hong Kong and Macau)[73] and Russia, as well as some US states,[70] grant fetus inheritance rights, usually under the born alive rule. In the civil code of Iran, fetus can inherit in case of abortion that took place due to a crime, as long as the fetus was alive even for a second after birth. Under the civil code of Japan, for the purposes of inheritance the fetus is deemed to have already been born.[74] The civil codes of the Philippines and Spain envisage that donations to the unborn children can be made and accepted by "persons who would legally represent them if they were already born".[75][76] The same is allowed by the Malikis.[77]

Alongside Norway, the Constitution of Bhutan grants the unborn royal children the right to succession, but only if there is no male heir.[78]

Behavioral intervention

Various initiatives, prompted by concern for the ill effects which might be posed to the health or development of a fetus, seek to restrict or discourage women from engaging in certain behaviors while pregnant. Also, in some countries, laws have been passed to restrict the practice of abortion based upon the gender of the fetus.

• Many jurisdictions actively warn against the consumption of alcoholic beverages by pregnant women, recommending a maximum intake or total abstinence, due to its association with fetal alcohol syndrome. Countries that encourage those who are pregnant to avoid alcohol either entirely or partially include Australia, Canada, France, Iceland, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• Many national and international agencies recommend dietary guidelines for pregnant women due to the health risks posed by the consumption of fish contaminated with methylmercury through industrial pollution. Studies have linked exposure to various levels of methylmercury in utero to neurological disorders in children.
• The use of tobacco products or exposure to secondhand smoke during pregnancy has been linked to low birth weight.[79] Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, citing studies which attribute 10% of infant deaths to tobacco-smoking mothers, considered adopting a smoking ban for pregnant women in 2006 with the aim of reducing infant mortality.[80]
• No U.S. state has enacted a law which criminalizes specific behavior during pregnancy, but, nonetheless, it has been estimated that at least 200 American women have been criminally prosecuted or arrested under existing child abuse statutes for allegedly bringing about harm in-utero through their conduct during pregnancy.[81] Reasons for pressing charges included use of illicit drugs, consumption of alcohol, and failure to comply with a doctor's order of bedrest or caesarean section.[81] Drug addicts have been accused of "supplying drugs to a minor" through unintentional chemical subjection via the umbilical cord.[81] Others have been charged with assault with a deadly weapon with the "deadly weapon" in question being an illegal drug.[81] Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota allow women who continue to use substances while pregnant to be civilly committed.[81] Some states require that medical providers report any infant who is born with a physical dependency, or who tests positive for residual traces of alcohol or drugs, to child welfare authorities.
• Cultural preferences for male children in some parts of Asia, such as Mainland China, India, South Korea, and Taiwan, have sometimes led to sex-selective abortion of female fetuses, leading to the disparity between male-to-female birth rates which is observed in some places. India banned the practice of abortion for reasons of fetal sex in 1994.[82]

See also

• Beginning of human personhood
• Born alive rule
• Children's rights
• Embryo adoption
• Nutrition and pregnancy
• Prenatal care
• Reproductive justice
• Stem cell controversy
• Women's reproductive rights

Notes

References

1. "Fetal Rights". West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. The Gale Group, Inc. 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
2. Erin N. Linder (2005). "Punishing prenatal alcohol abuse: the problems inherent in utilizing civil commitment to address addiction" (PDF). University of Illinois Law Review. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
3. Riddle, John (1994). Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance. Harvard University Press. p. 8. ISBN 0674168763.
4. James Fieser (2010). "Abortion". Applied Ethics: A Sourcebook. University of Tennessee. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
5. Riddle 1994, p. 64.
6. K. A. Kapparis (2002). Abortion in the Ancient World. Duckworth Academic. p. 188. ISBN 0715630806.
7. Mitchel Roth (2010). Crime and Punishment: A History of the Criminal Justice System. Cengage Learning. p. 12. ISBN 978-0495809883.
8. Harold G. Coward, Philip Hilton Cook (1996). Religious Dimensions of Child and Family Life: Reflections on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. p. 60. ISBN 155058104X.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
9. Jean Reith Schroedel (2000). Is the Fetus a Person?: A Comparison of Policies Across the Fifty States. Cornell University Press. p. 31. ISBN 0801437075.
10. Judith Evans Grubbs (2002). Women and the Law in the Roman Empire: A Sourcebook on Marriage, Divorce and Widowhood. Psychology Press. p. 264. ISBN 0415152402.
11. Е. В. Афонасин. (2014). "Казусы римского права" (PDF) (in Russian). Новосибирский гос. ун-т. p. 78. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
12. "The Digest or Pandects Book XXXVIII". The Roman Law Library. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
13. "The Digest or Pandects Book XLVIII". The Roman Law Library. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
14. Robert Dundonald Melville (July 2010). A manual of the principles of Roman law relating to persons, property, and obligations. Ripol Classic. p. 103. ISBN 978-1176341586.
15. Ernest L. Abel (1999). "Was the fetal alcohol syndrome recognized by the Greeks and Romans?" (PDF). Alcohol & Alcoholism. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
16. S. Troianos. "The embryo in Byzantine canon law" (PDF). Biopolitics International Organisation. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
17. Nigel Wilson, ed. (2013). Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. Routledge. p. 381. ISBN 978-1136787997.
18. Mark C. Bartusis (2013). Land and Privilege in Byzantium: The Institution of Pronoia. Cambridge University Press. p. 276. ISBN 978-1139851466.
19. Michael Penman. "Diffinicione successionis ad regnum Scottorum: Royal succession in Scotland in the Later Middle Ages" (PDF). STORRE: Stirling Online Research Repository. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
20. John A. Gade. Luxemburg in the Middle Ages. Brill Archive. p. 211.
21. James Panton (2011). Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy. Scarecrow Press. p. xxx. ISBN 978-0810874978.
22. Erich H. Loewy (2013). Textbook of Medical Ethics. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 159–160. ISBN 978-9401744799.
23. "Man-Midwife, Male Feminist: The Life and Times of George Macaulay, M.D., Ph.D. (1716-1766)". University of Michigan Library. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
24. "The Legal Status Of the Unborn Child". The Journal of Legal Medicine. Magazines for Industry, Incorporated: iv. 1977.
25. France, George Spence, Robert Samuel Richards (1824). The Code Napoleon: Or, The French Civil Code. C. Hunter. p. 108.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
26. Tatsuo Kuroyanagi (2013). "Historical Transition in Medical Ethics — Challenges of the World Medical Association" (PDF). Japan Medical Association Journal. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
27. Richard P. Byrne (April 1967). "Abortion Classified and Reclassified". ABA Journal. 53: 304, 306. ISSN 0747-0088.
28. Jayawickrama, Nihal (2002). The Judicial Application of Human Rights Law: National, Regional and International Jurisprudence. Cambridge University Press. pp. 246–247. ISBN 052178042X.
29. Blank, Robert; Bonnicksen, Andrea (2013). Medicine Unbound: The Human Body and the Limits of Medical Intervention: Emerging Issues in Biomedical Policy Volume 3. Columbia University Press. p. 77. ISBN 978-0231514262.
30. Fiona De Londras (22 May 2015). "Constitutionalizing Fetal Rights: A Salutary Tale from Ireland". Michigan Journal of Gender & Law. SSRN 2600907.
31. "Q&A: Human Rights Law and Access to Abortion". Human Rights Watch. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
32. ":: Multilateral Treaties > Department of International Law > OAS ::". www.oas.org. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
33. "Signatories and Ratifications". Organization of American States. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
34. Alvaro Paul (2012). "Controversial conceptions: The unborn and the American Convention on Human Rights". Loyola University Chicago International Law Review. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
35. Chakrabarti, Reeta (29 September 2016). "Chile's president defiant over abortion changes". Retrieved 25 June 2019.
36. Abby F. Janoff (2004). "Rights of the pregnant child vs. rights of the unborn under the Convention on the Rights of the Child" (PDF). Boston University International Law Journal. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
37. Linda Farber Post (1996). "Bioethical Consideration of Maternal-Fetal Issues". Fordham Urban Law Journal. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
38. Jozef H.H.M. Dorscheidt (2010). "Developments in Legal and Medical Practice Regarding the Unborn Child and the Need to Expand Prenatal Legal Protection". European Journal of Health Law. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
39. Niels Petersen. "The Legal Status of the Human Embryo in vitro: General Human Rights Instruments" (PDF). Zeitschrift für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
40. "International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights". UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
41. "WMA Declaration on Therapeutic Abortion". WMA. Archived from the original on 28 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
42. "Translations". Dublin Declaration. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
43. World Health Organization (2012). Safe abortion: technical and policy guidance for health systems (PDF) (2nd ed.). Geneva: World Health Organization. p. 78. ISBN 9789241548434.
44. Asim Kurjak; Frank A. Chervenak, eds. (2006). Textbook of Perinatal Medicine, Second Edition. CRC Press. p. 218. ISBN 1439814694.
45. Douwe Korff. "The right to life. A guide to the implementation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights" (PDF). European Court of Human Rights. p. 10. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
46. "The Constitution, as laid down on 17 May 1814 by the Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll and subsequently amended, most recently in May 2014" (PDF). Storting. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015. B, Article 6: An unborn child shall also be included among those entitled to the succession and shall immediately take her or his proper place in the line of succession as soon as she or he is born into the world.
47. Abdel-Rahim Omran, ed. (2012). Family Planning in the Legacy of Islam. Routledge. ISBN 978-1134936427.
48. Abdulaziz Sachedina (2009). Islamic Biomedical Ethics: Principles and Application. Oxford University Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0199702848.
49. Blank & Bonnicksen 2013, p. 85.
50. Kristin Savell. "Is the 'Born Alive' Rule Outdated and Indefensible?" (PDF). Sydney Law Review. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
51. Guido de Wert, Christine Mummery (2003). "Human embryonic stem cells: research, ethics and policy". Human Reproduction. Oxford Journals. 18 (4): 672–682. doi:10.1093/humrep/deg143. PMID 12660256.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
52. Criminal Code of Canada
53. "Chile's Constitution of 1980 with Amendments through 2012" (PDF). Constitute Project. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
54. "Dominican Republic's Constitution of 2010" (PDF). Constitute Project. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
55. "Ecuador's Constitution of 2008" (PDF). Constitute Project. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
56. "El Salvador's Constitution of 1983 with Amendments through 2003" (PDF). Constitute Project. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
57. "Guatemala's Constitution of 1985 with Amendments through 1993" (PDF). Constitute Project. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
58. "Hungary's Constitution of 2011" (PDF). Constitute Project. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
59. "Honduras's Constitution of 1982 with Amendments through 2012" (PDF). Retrieved 31 October 2015.
60. "Madagascar's Constitution of 2010" (PDF). Constitute Project. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
61. "Peru's Constitution of 1993 with Amendments through 2009" (PDF). Constitute Project. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
62. "Philippines's Constitution of 1987" (PDF). Constitute Project. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
63. "Slovakia's Constitution of 1992 with Amendments through 2014" (PDF). Constitute Project. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
64. Penal Code of Solomon Islands
65. "Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1983". Irish Statute Book. p. Schedule, Part II. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
66. "Unborn 'does not have' inherent constitutional rights". RTÉ.ie. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
67. de Freytas-Tamura, Kimiko (26 May 2018). "Ireland Votes to Legalize Abortion in Blow to Catholic Conservatism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
68. "Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018". Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
69. Jessica M. Boudreaux, John W. Thompson Jr (1 June 2015). "Maternal-Fetal Rights and Substance Abuse: Gestation Without Representation". Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 43. Retrieved 8 November 2015.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
70. Paul Benjamin Linton (2011). "The Legal Status of the Unborn Child Under State Law" (PDF). St. Thomas Journal of Law & Public Policy. Thomas More Society. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
71. Congress of the United States of America. (25 March 2004). Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004. H.R.1997. Retrieved 31 July 2006.
72. "The Bush Administration's Plan for Fetal Care." (7 February 2002). On Point. Retrieved 31 July 2006.
73. Kuang Yanping. "A Comparative Study on the Mainland, Macao, and Hong Kong's Civil Remedy of Fetus's Interests". Journal of China Women's University. Gender Study Network. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
74. "Japanese Civil Code in English". Craftsman, LPC. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
75. "The Civil Code of the Philippines". Chan Robles Virtual Law Library. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
76. "Spain Civil Code (approved by Royal Decree of 24 July 1889)". WIPO. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
77. Jamal J. Nasir, ed. (1990). The Islamic Law of Personal Status. Brill Archive. p. 284. ISBN 1853332801.
78. "Bhutan Constitution" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 September 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
79. Rosenburg, J. (2004). Low Birth Weight Is Linked to Timing of Prenatal Care and Other Maternal Factors. International Family Planning Perspectives, 30 (2). Retrieved 31 July 2006.
80. "Some Legislators Want To Ban Pregnant Women From Smoking". (14 June 2006). The Hometown Channel. Retrieved 31 July 2006.
81. Center for Reproductive Rights. (September 2000). Punishing Women for Their Behavior During Pregnancy: An Approach That Undermines Women’s Health and Children’s Interests Archived 1 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 July 2006.
82. Jyotsna Singh, India probes baby body parts find, BBS News, 23 July 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2008.