If Embryos and Fetuses Have Rights
-
Michele GoodwIn
Abstract
What exactly does it mean to be human or for that matter a “non-human”? This essay unpacks questions regarding the personhood of embryos and fetuses. It takes as its lead the escalating political demand for embryos to attain rights and the status of children. The essay argues that such political demands are not in isolation physically, medically, or legally of women’s health and rights. It makes the case that embryos and fetuses cannot be granted rights without impermissibly implicating pregnant women. Thus, the essay argues against the extension of criminal and tort law to punish pregnant women under fetal protection laws by drawing an analogy to the duty to rescue jurisprudence.
© 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Beyond Natural Potentiality: Brain-Death Pregnancy, Viable Fetuses, and Pre-implanted Embryos
- If Embryos and Fetuses Have Rights
- CRISPR Creations and Human Rights
- Environmental Vegetarianism: Conflicting Principles, Constructive Virtues
- The Rights of Non-Humans: From Animals to Silent Nature
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Beyond Natural Potentiality: Brain-Death Pregnancy, Viable Fetuses, and Pre-implanted Embryos
- If Embryos and Fetuses Have Rights
- CRISPR Creations and Human Rights
- Environmental Vegetarianism: Conflicting Principles, Constructive Virtues
- The Rights of Non-Humans: From Animals to Silent Nature
