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Human Rights and the Unborn Child
Abstract
Reaffirming the Universal Declaration's recognition of the human rights of the unborn child, this book explores the implications of this recognition for modern international human rights law, establishing a case for restoring legal protection for children at risk of abortion. © 2009 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands. All rights reserved.
... [14,31] Therefore, the fetus cannot receive the dosage it requires to be anaesthetised during the D and X without jeopardising the health of the woman. Moreover, the neurotransmitters mediating pain present during the second trimester, [14,32] yet neurotransmitters diminishing pain only appear in the third trimester; subsequently, fetuses aged between 20 and 30 weeks are purportedly vulnerable to pain. [14,32] Conversely, conflicting medical evidence has shown that fetal pain is improbable without the essential biological and neuroanatomical structures facilitating pain. ...
... Moreover, the neurotransmitters mediating pain present during the second trimester, [14,32] yet neurotransmitters diminishing pain only appear in the third trimester; subsequently, fetuses aged between 20 and 30 weeks are purportedly vulnerable to pain. [14,32] Conversely, conflicting medical evidence has shown that fetal pain is improbable without the essential biological and neuroanatomical structures facilitating pain. [14,19] The feeling of pain is dependent on a thalamocortical connection; supporting evidence illustrating fetal thalamocortical connection is limited. ...
... [14,31] Therefore, the fetus cannot receive the dosage it requires to be anaesthetised during the D and X without jeopardising the health of the woman. Moreover, the neurotransmitters mediating pain present during the second trimester, [14,32] yet neurotransmitters diminishing pain only appear in the third trimester; subsequently, fetuses aged between 20 and 30 weeks are purportedly vulnerable to pain. [14,32] Conversely, conflicting medical evidence has shown that fetal pain is improbable without the essential biological and neuroanatomical structures facilitating pain. ...
... Moreover, the neurotransmitters mediating pain present during the second trimester, [14,32] yet neurotransmitters diminishing pain only appear in the third trimester; subsequently, fetuses aged between 20 and 30 weeks are purportedly vulnerable to pain. [14,32] Conversely, conflicting medical evidence has shown that fetal pain is improbable without the essential biological and neuroanatomical structures facilitating pain. [14,19] The feeling of pain is dependent on a thalamocortical connection; supporting evidence illustrating fetal thalamocortical connection is limited. ...
... Dok je Interаmerička komisija za ljudska prava u predmetu Baby Boy v. United States smatrala da ova činjenica predstavlja konsenzus između zemalja koje su u vreme njenog usvajanja legalizovale prekid trudnoće i onih koje to nisu, u nauci postoji mišljenje da je razlog za izostavljanje ovih formulacija u tome što se podrazumevalo da se ljudski život štiti od začeća, kao što se podrazumevalo da se život štiti ostalim ranjivim kategorijama, poput mentalno obolelih soba, osoba koje ne mogu da se staraju o sebi ili osoba koje boluju od neizlečivih bolesti, čija zaštita je takođe bila predviđena nacrtom iz 1947. godine a izostala je iz teksta Deklaracije (Joseph, 2009: 218). ...
... Imajući u vidu da je predmet zaštite prava na život prema Konvenciji primarno biološke a ne sociološke prirode, možemo reći da je njen obim, koji garantuje Konvencija, širi od obima zaštite koji pruža Evropska konvencija. U prilog ovoj konstataciji idu i tvrdnje autorke Rite (Joseph, 2009: 214) da je u tekstu Konvencije namerno izostavljena definicija ličnosti koja bi kasnije omogućila nacionalnim vlastima da kroz zakonodavstvo ostave bez zaštite bilo koje ljudsko biće. Ova konstatacija se ne može izvesti u slučaju Evropske konvencije, koja je regulisanje ovog pitanja prepustila nacionalnim vlastima (H. ...
It is the fact that law enforcement officers must abide by the law in performing
their official tasks. This obligation results logically from the police function itself.
Since they are in charge of law enforcement, the officers must be representatives
of its upholding. The reality, however, too often proves this rule wrong and
there are many various forms of unlawful behavior of police officers to be the
evidence of it. The majority of these conducts are represented by police powers
overstepping, or the powers are used contrary to legal basis or without sufficient
reason. These are actually the cases of police powers misuse that are most
frequently the consequence of police officer’s negligence. However, police
practice records also classic cases of misused powers, in other words the misuses
of police power for the purpose not allowed by regulations, which are not
related to the fulfillment of an official task or the goal of the use of the power is
even contrary to the interests of the service. In considerable number of cases the
question is actually of malicious misuse of police powers or even its use in order
to achieve primarily personal interest. Corruptive behavior of police officers is
singled out as a typical form of police powers misuse. The dangers and
consequences that police corruption causes at both individual and social level
undoubtedly attract attention of the expert public representing at the same time the key cause for the study of this phenomenon. The study of police corruption
phenomenon is of huge scientific importance since it contributes to spreading
the knowledge of the phenomenon shrouded in secrecy. Due to the lack of
precise police corruption indicators, the conclusions on this phenomenon base
primarily on the impressions from either personal experience or media
representation. Personal experience, however, may be an exception rather than
a rule, while media burdened by sensationalism usually approach the problem
superficially and selectively. In order to prevent reaching final judgments based
on lump estimates, it is necessary to analyze the problem of police corruption
using the appropriate methods and respecting the principles of scientific
perspective. This, on the other hand is not at all an easy task. Everyone who
decides to engage in this endeavor soon becomes aware of that it is necessary to
overcome a series of conceptual, methodological and practical obstacles. We
have made an attempt in this paper to suggest all problems and limitations,
offering practical advice at the same time which every researcher should bear in
mind when designing a plan of police corruption study and by sticking to this
plan they could at least partially avoid mistakes and increase the value of the
results obtained.
... This underscores the relevance of continued research into optimizing the mental and physical development of children and emphasizes the imperative to explore new psychological and pedagogical technologies and systems for harmonizing child development from prenatal stages. This necessity is compounded by WHO criteria for live birth (22 weeks, 500 grams) [12] and the absence of legal status for a child of the same age who has not yet been born [13,14]. ...
This article introduces the concept of musical harmonization in the prenatal development of a child within the context of the "mother-fetus" dyad, employing the unique "Sonatal" method developed by the author. This method is designed to optimize the processes of morpho-functional and psycho-emotional maturation of the fetus. It aims to stimulate motor activity, regulate cardiorespiratory functions, prevent prenatal hypoxia, and equip pregnant women with communication skills for interacting with their child before birth. Additionally, the method focuses on enhancing the well-being of pregnant women, preparing them for childbirth, and fostering a positive impact on their health.The "Sonatal" method involves various activities, including singing, appropriate movements and touches to the abdomen, color music simulators, children's musical instruments, and active listening to music. Pregnant women participate in daily dosed vocal-speech activities, including a weekly one-hour session at the School of Prenatal Development, offered both,in group settings,and individually,throughout the stages of pregnancy.The paper delves into the distinctive musical qualities associated with both motherhood and childhood. Additionally, it presents select findings from the study, showcasing fragments utilized in validating the efficacy of the "Sonatal" method.The comprehensive array of positive responses observed in the "mother-fetus" organism, stemming from the application of the "Sonatal" method during pregnancy and childbirth, is discussed. This encompasses enhancements in lactation for nursing mothers, along with favorable indicators of health and the mental and physical development of the child during postpartum stages of ontogenesis—a phenomenon termed the "Sonatal effect" resulting from prenatal classes using this method.
... Nazi directives to decriminalize and promote abortion in propaganda were used as evidence, as was a letter urging that women should get to know abortion "as a simple and pleasant affair" (Tuomala 2011, 358;Joseph 2009, 190). A Nazi requisite for abortion clinics was that they be "competently operated" and that "doctors must be able to help out, there being any question of this being a breach of their professional ethics" (Joseph 2009, 190, citing Wetzel 1942. Indeed, as with criminal research in concentration camps, some conscientious objectors refused to do abortions. ...
Background:
The Hippocratic Oath is a standard of medical ethics. Oath adaptations are common. Objective: Evaluate students' perceptions regarding the oath. Design: Survey of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical School graduating students regarding the oath's relevance, content, and application, and whether a choice of version should be provided.
Results:
Forty-two of the fifty-three students (79 percent) considered the original oath relevant. Most (53 percent) disagreed that the oath in its original form be used, and most preferred a modified oath. More agreed (40 percent) than disagreed (28 percent) on providing a choice of version of the oath. The mean of correct answers as to the original oath's contents was 68 percent. Euthanasia and abortion prohibitions were recognized by 68 percent and 62 percent, respectively. Increased knowledge of the original's contents correlated with decreased desire that it be used (p = .02). Recognition of euthanasia/abortion prohibitions was significantly better for those in disagreement than in agreement that the original be used. Those who disagreed that a choice of oath versions be provided had significantly better knowledge of the original's euthanasia/abortion prohibitions than those who agreed. However, those who felt strongly that a choice should or should not be given each had a 100 percent accuracy of identifying euthanasia/abortion prohibitions.
Conclusions:
Most students preferred an adapted oath to the original. Increased student knowledge of the original oath's contents, including reference to euthanasia/abortion, significantly correlated with decreased desire to use it. Given the original's importance in medical ethics, this is concerning. A subset of students, however, affirmed the original's value and desired its use. Improved education in the Hippocratic oath is important, given modern medicine's complex moral issues.
Summary:
The Hippocratic oath is a standard of medical ethics. Oath adaptations eliminating the original's prohibitions of abortion/euthanasia are common. Most medical students who were questioned preferred the adapted oath to the original. Only two-thirds recognized the original's prohibitions of abortion/euthanasia. Those who knew of the original oath's prohibitions also had a decreased desire that it be used. Students disagreeing that a choice of versions of the oath be provided had better knowledge of these prohibitions. This is concerning, given the original oath's importance in medical ethics including at the 1945-1949 Nuremberg trials. Nonetheless, a subset of students affirmed the original Hippocratic oath's importance, desiring its use.
... Related research in the domain of abortion attitudes focuses on differences in the terms "fetus" and the "unborn child" (e.g. Alston, 1990;Graff, 2008;Joseph, 2009;Matuchniak-Krasuska, 1991;Mikołajczak & Bilewicz, 2015;Tan, 2004). These studies show that people presented with a passage of text containing anthropomorphizing language about the preborn (as reflected in the term "unborn child") responded with greater opposition to abortion than people presented with dehumanizing language (as reflected in the term "fetus"; Simon & Xenos, 2004). ...
According to the Whorfian approach, language reflects and shapes cognitive processes, as well as attitudes. In this article, we analyze how people's preference to use one of the two terms used in the abortion discourse: “fetus” and “unborn child” can reveal their attitudes toward abortion and reflect deeper processes of (de)mentalization of the preborn. Study 1, which utilized a convenience sample of Polish internet users (N = 102), showed that people who used anthropomorphizing language opposed elective abortion more firmly than those using dementalizing language. The opposition to abortion among people using anthropomorphizing language could not be attributed to their religiosity, nor to their conservatism. Study 2, conducted with a more diverse sample of adult Poles recruited through an on-line research panel (N = 248), found that these differences were mediated by the emotionality ascribed to the preborn. Both studies provide evidence for the role of specific terms as reflections of deeper attitudes about the ontological nature of certain beings.
... Premature newborn babies, by their natural immaturity, are considered to be one of the most vulnerable groups in society. 17 While certain rights, such as their right to life and right to protection from harm, are protected by the Human Rights Act (1998: schedule 1), 18 they clearly lack the competence and ability to make decisions for themselves. Meaning, they are unable to give consent, nor exercise their right of autonomy. ...
Background:
There are no universally agreed rules of healthcare ethics. Ethical decisions and standards tend to be linked to professional codes of practice when dealing with complex issues.
Objectives:
This paper aims to explore the ethical complexities on who should decide to give infants born on the borderline of viability lifesaving treatment, parents or the healthcare professionals.
Method:
The paper is a discussion using the principles of ethics, professional codes of practice from the UK, Nursing Midwifery Council and UK legal case law and statute. Healthcare professionals' experiences that influence parental decision are also considered. Findings & Discussion: There are considerable barriers to an effective discussion taking place in an environment where clinical decisions have to be made quickly once the baby is born. This is compounded by the need and respect for parental autonomy and the difficulties they face when making a best interest's decision knowing that this could cause more harm than good for their infant child and balancing any decision they make with quality of life.
Conclusion:
On deciding whether to give lifesaving treatment born at the borderline of viability, it should be a joint decision between the parents and the neonatal team.
... In this regard Amann suggests that the Genocide Convention definition should extend not only to the paradigm categories, but also to groups properly associated with one or more enumerated adjective. 29 If we examine whether the disabled could be subsumed under the national group we should recall that the genesis of the crime of genocide itself can be traced back to earlier international legal protection of the so-called national minorities. 30 Young offers the consideration that a national group also cannot be identified entirely subjectively or objectively. ...
The intent of this article is to explore whether the group of the disabled people could be considered as a protected group under the international instruments referring to the crime of genocide. To that end, it has been discussed whether the listed groups (national, ethnical, racial and religious) are the only groups that are protected against the “ultimate crime”. The discussion refers to the theoretical understanding and judicial interpretations of the protected groups and their scope. Considering that the theory and case law provide grounds for both, exclusive and extensive, understanding of the protected groups and their scope, it has been addressed what are the common features of the groups that are indisputably protected. The findings that were reached through the discussion are that the group of the disabled has all the characteristics as the other protected groups, which qualifies them for the victim status. Bearing this in mind as well as the historical context of the concerning crime and its purpose, the teleological interpretation appears to be the most appropriate when defining which groups are protected for the purpose of genocide. Perhaps there is no possibility for the repetition of the Holocaust due to the present day historical circumstances, at least not in its latter scope. But, there is a latent tendency toward the creation of new threats against humanity arising out of new technologies. There lies the main value of this article. It contributes to the development of the ability to detect potential violations beyond those committed against the disabled people during the WWII.
... If we consider killing an able body foetus at certain point of gestation as actus reus of criminal offence, then killing a foetus with abnormality at that gestation is also actus reus of criminal defense. Discussions on this issue are not new (Joseph, 2009). There are national legislators who are reviewing statutory regulation, which introduced malformation as abortion defence (British Parliamentary, 2013). ...
Purpose:
The purpose of this investigation is to contribute to better understanding of the scope of positive obligations in safeguarding specific rights related to reproduction. The first aim of the research is to determine the States’ obligations in respect of an abortion surviving child. These obligations arise from the right to life and the prohibition on inhuman treatment. The second aim is to determine the
effects of temporal constraints to reproductive choice on the
Conventional rights of a pregnant woman. This refers to the right to privacy.
Design/Methods/Approach:
Spelled objectives are mostly achieved through the case-law study method. Also, we have used a method of comparison – between exclusive and inclusive theoretical approaches to the issue. We have approached to the topic from the utilitarian positions. The scope of this research is limited only to the margins of the mother-foetal conflict.
Findings:
The main findings could be summarized as follows: the States’ positive obligations require providing medical care to the surviving child. Simultaneously, the temporal constraints to accessing the negative aspect of reproductive choice require the States to provide timely information to a woman. Thus, she can decide about terminating her pregnancy.
Originality/Value:
The conclusions may contribute to domestic thought, which mostly relies on defect utilitarian calculations when discussing the issues. The judicial bodies may benefit from this research since it highlights which measures should be imposed upon a handling practitioner. The medical stuff is provided with guidance on how to face a situation when it is overlooked in legislation.
This paper analyzes the history of abortion and factors that influenced the legalization of abortion in Western society. The question is raised whether abortion should, according to its definition as an objective good or evil, be prohibited or legitimized, or will the legal framework on abortion be regulated as a political construct, independently of the objective moral nature of abortion. The possibility of finding the right answer to the abortion debate is analysed. Conclusion is drawn as to whether abortion can be justified by a political goal, or is it a moral issue independent of politics.
Capítulo 9. Bioética, muerte y derechos humanos, pp 217.
Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) constitutes a severe threat to the social well-being of not only children but extends to their families, societies. In response to the global challenge of reducing the growing effect of CSA, this study investigated the use of information sources on child sexual abuse in Ogun State. The study further tested two hypothesis to find out if communication channels for child sexual abuse education has no significant influence on the knowledge of the residents of Ogun State as well as Communication channels for child sexual abuse has no significant influence on the perception of residents of Ogun State. The study revealed that residents of Ogun state Nigeria depended on the internet as an information source for child sexual abuse. In addition, it was revealed that communication channels for child sexual abuse has significant influence on the knowledge and perception of the residents of Ogun State. Consequent upon these findings, the study recommends an urgent development of advocacy messages against CSA in form of edutainment, drama, songs that will fit the new media platform
The contention that an unborn child has the right to life has been visited with several oppositions from all works of life, all over the world. Most people do not accept the view that an unborn child possesses any form of human right which is to be protected because, that child is yet to be born into the world. It is however an established fact that, the fundamental principle of international human right instrument is to uphold the dignity and sanctity of all human persons, whether born or unborn. This shows that international human right instruments are founded on the basis of natural law. This study set out to investigate the core principle of international human right law. By so doing, the actual values and tenents of international human right law will be revealed. This is a doctrinal research, wherein the authors set out on a fact finding mission using selected articles, books and periodicals to bring out the objective of the study. At the end of the exercise, it was revealed that no international human right law will perpetrate a principle in opposition to natural law. This being the case, the unborn child, like any other living being is vested with the inalienable right to life. Keywords: Natural law, international human right law, right to life, unborn child.
Human life in the prenatal phase enjoys legal protection under the constitutional law in Europe, international law and European Union law. The intensity of this protection varies considerably depending on the adopted solutions in the area of abortion, research on embryos and the selection of embryos in the procedure of artificial insemination. In some legal systems the embryo or foetus is recognized as a subject of the right to life equally with a born person, while in other “developing life” is treated as an objective value, which, however, is lower in the hierarchy than the rights of a born citizen. It should be noted that even countries with a very wide access to abortion consider the need to ensure the minimum of legal protection of nasciturus e.g. France, which by ratifying the Oviedo Convention has underwritten the commitment to guarantee respect for the dignity of unborn human beings by on-going scientific research.
Daesh has profoundly affected the psychological statues of Iraqis; they sacrificed thousands of souls and martyrs to liberate their country from a savage enemy. This study has, therefore, a psychological perspective. It tackles the reflections of agony, suffering and poverty in the behaviour of the artists, writers and translators. Iraqi artists have represented their suffering and pains in their paintings. They encoded the symbols, colours and semiotic mosaics in association with rhetorical connotations. Mosul is the city most affected by the terrorist acts during the war. Therefore, the study has selected four Mosuli artists who drew, painted and visually documented that period. Translation does not limit itself to the study and analysis of verbal/linguistic texts; it also tackles the extra-linguistic signs and codes of the source language to transfer them into the target language appropriately and in a way that seems intelligible to the readers or the spectators of these paintings. The research questions are based on a set of issues: Are the teachers of translation able to construct a bridge between Iraqi society, European society and other societies? These paintings have socio-cultural symbols specific to Iraqi society. Are the teachers of translation able to come out from the shell of the linguistic texts and move towards the semiotic and visual texts?
In this chapter, the previously outlined method of evaluating the compatibility of certain views and practices with human rights is applied to the equality dimension of human rights. I discuss inclusivist resources in religious as well as non-religious worldviews that can strengthen the notion of a principal equal worth of human beings, and scan various obstacles in that regard. The case examples include religious supremacy, nationalism, misogyny, and “moral disgust”.
The definition of the beginning of life and the protection of the right to life when conflicting entitlements and interests emerge are highly disputed issues worldwide, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) have been called to tackle these questions in their jurisprudence, especially when reproductive rights were at stake. In this respect, this paper focuses on the status of human embryo and on prenatal life and provides an assessment of the approaches that the two Courts have developed when dealing with such delicate issues as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and abortion, respectively through the pervasive scrutiny of the San José Court and its purposeful impact on the domestic sphere and usually through the recognition of a wide margin of appreciation by the Strasbourg Court. In this regard, this paper provides an analysis of the Courts' most significant case law, as Artavia Murillo v. Costa Rica and 'Beatriz' cases, with reference to the IACtHR, and the ECtHR's decisions Vo v. France, Evans v. the United Kingdom, S.H. and Others v. Austria, Costa and Pavan v. Italy, Parrillo v. Italy and A, B, C v. Ireland, while considering the peculiarities of the systems of the American Convention on Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights and the role of the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine and its Protocols in Strasbourg jurisprudence. Moving from this assessment, this paper aims to suggest possible solutions to improve the results achieved by the two Courts, also through judicial cross-fertilization and through reference to the relevant international instruments according to Article 31(3)(c) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of the Treaties, for example the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. © 2018 Departamento de Literatura Espan-Universidad de Sevilla. All rights reserved.
Cada vez mais o Direito enfrenta desafios sobre como inserir as normas jurídicas provenientes de diversas fontes em um diálogo ativo. Nesse sentido, a integração dos Estados e o compromisso internacional com os direitos humanos têm apresentado grandes desafios. O presente artigo analisa o exemplo do controle de convencionalidade no Sistema Interamericano de Direitos Humanos, valendo-se do diálogo judicial aplicado ao caso Artavia Murillo e outros versus Costa Rica. A metodologia empregada é da pesquisa bibliográfica, centrada na análise do caso julgado. O trabalho conclui identificando o desenvolvimento de uma nova racionalidade jurídica que permite ao Direito acompanhar e amoldar-se à nova realidade, interligando normas internacionais de direitos humanos e o direito interno.
There are some remarkable parallels in how international human rights law and scholarship have been addressing the claims and rights of indigenous peoples and children. This chapter suggests that indigenous peoples' rights law could inspire children's rights law in three domains: the demarcation of its personal scope, the development of the right to be heard of children as a group, and the conceptualisation of children's right to give consent. A challenge common to both fields of indigenous peoples' rights and children's rights law and research concerns addressing romanticised constructions and, in particular, their detrimental consequences.
The South African Constitutional Court has not yet been confronted with having to make a finding on the status of the unborn against the background of the South African Bill of Rights. Expecting that the Constitutional Court will sometime in the future be approached in this regard, this article presents some preparatory foun-dational insights on what the approach of the said Court should be. In this regard, the law-making function of the judiciary and the importance of an informative and rational approach towards the protection of the unborn in the judicial process are emphasised. A more nuanced approach by the judiciary towards the status of the unborn will provide more sensitivity towards matters which overlap with the practice of religion on the one hand and the protection of the unborn on the other. Examples in this regard are conscientious objections by medical practitioners against partaking in abortions due to their religious beliefs, and the dissemination of ethical or jurisprudential knowledge of the unborn to students in secular institutions of education who, in accordance with their religious beliefs, oppose the termination of the unborn. Religious institutions which oppose abortions will also be obligated by their own tenets to form part of such a judicial process, and this is allowed for by the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Keywords Abortion, unborn, right to life, abortion and the judiciary, the right to life and the courts, the right to life and the South African Constitution. Introduction 1.
Chapter 2 focuses on the development of the pro-life fetus-centered strategy between 1973 and 1994, analyzing both the discourse and the public policy introduced during these decades. The discourse, which emphasizes the humanity of the fetus, also using religious and scientific claims, failed to expand the movement’s base of support. In addition, attempts to pass legislation that declares the fetus as a human being—manifested mainly in the hundreds of Human Life Amendment proposals—also were unsuccessful. At the same time, this pro-life strategy influences the concept of human rights, reproductive rights, and right-wing politics. This chapter concludes with an account of reasons for this failure, which led to the development of the women-centered strategy of the 1990s.
Upendra Baxi argues that it is the “voices of suffering” that should be the basis of human rights, rather than any other criterion. In the case of children, even that sound advice is insufficient. In order to be perceived as “suffering”, human beings must first be acknowledged as existent and present. Yet, as Rita Joseph clearly demonstrates, despite the presence of explicit international instruments, starting with the 1948 Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), then repeated in 1959 in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (DRC), and subsequently in the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the child’s right to life is no longer present, thus his “suffering” cannot be recognized.
This early document states the basic necessity in child law very clearly: “the child must be given the means requisite for its normal development”. This universal statement is intended to be applicable to every child, not only to those who are convenient, or not due to arrive at a time when then pregnant woman would prefer to avoid their survival. The starting point remains clear: there is neither scientific evidence nor any other research that produces a logical argument why a developing human infant should be deprived of the right to life and normal development, or why she should be deemed to be alive and possess rights only when outside a mother’s body and breathing on her own.
Child Law starts with the question "Who is the Child?" In direct contrast to the CRC, which calls for putting the interests of the child first in all policies dealing with children, it appears that the interests of others are the major consideration de facto. In law, children's right to protection is severely limited by the presence of a maximum age limit, with no consideration of the starting point: current and ongoing scientific research has demonstrated the effects of this non-consideration in a number of abnormalities and diseases, not only in children, but in adults and the elderly. The WHO has published a number of studies to that effect and the 2012 Report on Endocrine Disruptors more than confirms this claim. This and other scientific insights that have largely been ignored show the flaws and inadequacies of the legal regimes intended to protect children, in a number of areas, from the basic public health to the right to normal development; child labor law conventions; in conflict situations; as a result of climate and other events; children as illegal migrants and as inmates in prison camps. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014. All rights are reserved.
Due to moral, religious, and cultural sensibilities, the topic of abortion still gives rise to controversy. The ongoing public debate has become visibly polarized with the usage of the pro-life versus pro-choice rhetoric. The aim of the current research was to investigate whether the language used in abortion discourse can affect people's attitudes by changing their attributions of humanity to unborn. Across three experimental studies we showed that participants who read about a ‘foetus’, compared to a ‘child’ declared higher support for elective abortion (Study 1; N = 108), this effect can be explained by greater humanness, as reflected in human nature traits, attributed to the child (vs. the foetus; Study 2; N = 121). The effect is mediated uniquely by attribution of human nature, but not by human uniqueness traits (Study 3; N = 120). These findings serve as a starting point for discussion of the role of language in shaping attitudes on abortion and other morally ambiguous issues.
This study interprets the ambiguous Article 4(1) of the American Convention on Human Rights, which establishes that life shall be protected "in general, from the moment of conception". When doing so, it pays attention to different interpretive systems, and takes into account what is recorded in the travaux préparatoires of the Convention. Likewise, this study analyzes what the Inter-American Commission has determined on this issue, and assesses the value of those decisions. This article concludes that, even though one of the possible interpretations of the American Convention affirms that it would tolerate domestic legislations providing for abortion in exceptional circumstances, it declares the unborn's personhood.
This study interprets the ambiguous Article 4(1) of the American Convention on Human Rights, which establishes that life shall be protected 'in general, from the moment of conception'. When doing so, it pays attention to different interpretive systems, and takes into account what is recorded in the travaux préparatoires of the Convention. Likewise, this study analyzes what the Inter-American Commission has determined on this issue, and assesses the value of those decisions. This article concludes that, even though one of the possible interpretations of the American Convention affirms that it would tolerate domestic legislations providing for abortion in exceptional circumstances, it declares the unborn’s personhood.
The history of medicine this century is darkened by the downfall of the German medical profession, exposed during the doctors' trial at Nuremberg in 1946. Relying largely on documents published during 1933 in German medical journals, this paper examines two widely accepted notions of those events, metaphorically termed "slippery slope" and "sudden subversion." The first connotes a gradual slide over infinitesimal steps until, suddenly, all footing is lost; the second conveys forced take over of the profession's leadership and values. Both concepts imply that the medical profession itself became the victim of circumstances. The slippery slope concept is a prominent figure of argument in the current debate on bioethics. The evidence presented here, however, strongly suggests that the German medical community set its own course in 1933. In some respects this course even outpaced the new government, which had to rein in the profession's eager pursuit of enforced eugenic sterilizations. In 1933 the convergence of political, scientific, and economic forces dramatically changed the relationship between the medical community and the government. That same convergence is occurring again and must be approached with great caution if medicine is to remain focused on the preservation of physical and medical integrity.
The weight of evidence suggests that women who freely choose to terminate a pregnancy are unlikely to experience significant mental health risks, however some studies have documented psychological distress in the form of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression in the aftermath of termination. Choice of anaesthetic has been suggested as a determinant of outcome. This study compared the effects of local anaesthesia and intravenous sedation, administered for elective surgical termination, on outcomes of pain, cortisol, and psychological distress.
155 women were recruited from a private abortion clinic and state hospital (mean age: 25.4 +/- 6.1 years) and assessed on various symptom domains, using both clinician-administered interviews and self-report measures just prior to termination, immediately post-procedure, and at 1 month and 3 months post-procedure. Morning salivary cortisol assays were collected prior to anaesthesia and termination.
The group who received local anaesthetic demonstrated higher baseline cortisol levels (mean = 4.7 vs 0.2), more dissociative symptoms immediately post-termination (mean = 14.7 vs 7.3), and higher levels of pain before (mean = 4.9 vs 3.0) and during the procedure (mean = 8.0 vs 4.4). However, in the longer-term (1 and 3 months), there were no significant differences in pain, psychological outcomes (PTSD, depression, self-esteem, state anxiety), or disability between the groups. More than 65% of the variance in PTSD symptoms at 3 months could be explained by baseline PTSD symptom severity and disability, and post-termination dissociative symptoms. Of interest was the finding that pre-procedural cortisol levels were positively correlated with PTSD symptoms at both 1 and 3 months.
High rates of PTSD characterise women who have undergone surgical abortions (almost one fifth of the sample meet criteria for PTSD), with women who receive local anaesthetic experiencing more severe acute reactions. The choice of anesthetic, however, does not appear to impact on longer-term psychiatric outcomes or functional status.
The Charter of the United Nations forbids discrimination on the basis of "race sex language or religion." Some of the delegations involved in drafting the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights felt that this short list of four nondiscrimination items was enough and should be repeated in the Declaration. Others wanted to be more exhaustive. The matter was referred to the Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities. This commission recommended that the article in the Declaration state that "[e]veryone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration without distinction of any kind such as race sex language religion political or other opinion property status or national or social origin." Everything after "religion" was added to the Charter list. A few objections were raised but nothing was deleted from the list. Instead the two items of "color" and "birth" were added to the Sub-Commissions recommendation. Article 2 of the Declaration is thus an expansion of the Charters mandate that the new world organization promote human rights for all without discrimination. This theme of nondiscrimination runs through all the deliberations about the Declaration and whatever disagreements there were about the various items on the list were minor. There was complete agreement that the article on nondiscrimination was a keystone of the Declaration and a gateway to its universality. If we take away someones race sex and opinions on various subjects all information about his or her background about birth and present economic status what we have left is just a human being one without frills. And the Declaration says that the human rights it proclaims belong to these kinds of stripped-down people that is to everyone without exception. As Mr. Heywood the Australian representative said "logically discrimination was prohibited by the use in each article of the phrase every person or everyone." That is why the prohibition against discrimination is not repeated- -as it well might have been--with each article but is stated at the beginning and made applicable to "all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration." Given this opening prohibition against discrimination there is strictly speaking no need for repetition. But that does not mean that the temptation was not there especially in the case of sex-based discrimination. Nor does it mean that the final product--a litany of the words "everyone" and "no one"--was arrived at without struggle. For there was a struggle especially in the case of womens rights. (excerpt)
This paper does not attempt to deal with the legitimate ethical or moral debate on abortion. Utilizing abortion as a subject I will show how science and medicine in general, and abortion in particular, were used as weapons of mass destruction by Nazi physicians in their zeal to comply with the political climate of the time. Nazi policy on abortion and childbirth was just one of the methods devised and designed to ensure the extermination of those whom the Nazis deemed had "lives not worth living." Physicians implemented these policies, not with the fate of their patients in mind, but rather in the name of the "state." When discussing pregnancy, abortion and childbirth during the Holocaust it is imperative to include an essay of how these issues affected the Jewish prisoner doctors in the ghettos and camps. Nazi policy dictated their actions too. From an extensive search of their testimonies, I conclude that for these doctors ethical discourse comprised a fundamental component of their functioning. I do not propose to judge them in any way and one should not, in my opinion, argue whether their behavior was or was not morally acceptable under such duress; nevertheless, unlike their Nazi counterparts, a key theme in their testimonies was to "keep their medical values."
To assess whether the rates of Down syndrome births in Queensland vary according to rurality (ie, whether the mother lives in a rural or urban area) and type of antenatal care provider, and to consider any implications for antenatal care.
Population-based study of Down syndrome births in Queensland between 1990 and 2004, stratified by rurality and type of antenatal care provider (private obstetrician, public hospital or shared care).
Since 2000, there has been a large fall in maternal-age-adjusted rates of Down syndrome births among mothers living in urban areas (-14.3% per year; 95% CI, -22.7%, -5.0%) and among mothers receiving their antenatal care from private obstetricians (-27.5% per year; 95% CI, -37.6%, -15.8%). Similar decreases have not occurred among mothers living in rural areas (0.0%; 95% CI, -11.7%, 13.1%) or among mothers receiving antenatal care from public hospitals (+2.9%, 95% CI, -10.3%, 17.9%).
Possible reasons for the observed trends include unequal access to antenatal screening; confusion about screening guidelines and protocols; late presentation for antenatal care; and differences in attitudes to screening and termination of pregnancy among expectant parents, such that they may choose not to have screening or not to act on a positive screening test result.
On the basis of two examples (Opinion 4.2005 of the EU Network independent experts in fundamental rights on the right to conscientious objection and the conclusion by EU Member States of Concordats with the Holy See, and the ECHR Decision in the case of Tysiąc v. Poland), this article expresses the author's concern over the increasing estrangement between a new voluntaristic doctrine of human rights and the most basic precepts of ethical reason. This novel doctrine is not based on the concept of an objective and inalienable natural law, but on the radical ideology of certain NGOs and international bureaucracies, which pretend having authority to 'make' new human rights, thereby assuming the role of supreme global law-makers. This power shift to the unelected, if not halted, could seriously damage or even destroy the credibility the concept of human rights is enjoying worldwide.http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a789106504~db=all
Fifty years ago, 20 Nazi physicians were tried and convicted for the part they played in the brutal medical experiments done at Auschwitz. Are there still lessons to be learned from the Nuremberg trials?.
Population and Development (ICPD) achieved landmark agreements on population and development. This year, a Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly reviewed progress and agreed on priority actions for the future. In the face of deelining international assistance and continuing poverty and deprivation-including a wide- spread denial of the right to reproductive health-what are the prospeets for successful implementation of the ICPD agreements?'I The consensus document of the ICPD, the Programme of Action, states that countries should ensure the reproduc- tive rights of all individuals, including the right of couples and individuals to decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and to have the information and means to do s0; the right to the highest standard of sexual and reproduc- tive health; and the right to make sexual and reproductive decisions free of discrimination, co ercion, and violence. In the Programme of Action, the international community rec- ognizes that reproductive rights are human rights. This position was further endorsed by the Social Summit in Copenhagen and then again by the Fourth World Conference for Women in Beijing in 1995. Progress since
As a result of heated controversy and the need to reach a compromise solution the Commission on Human Rights Draft Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989 version) raises the abortion issue only in a preamble. This preamble asserts that ". . .the child by reason of his physical and mental immaturity needs special safeguards and care including appropriate legal protection before as well as after birth." Still unclear however is the role of a preamble to an international treaty and the exact meaning of the preamble paragraph. The United Nations has a history of using preamble to express general policy concerns that are not necessarily pursued or even addressed in the operative part of the document itself and have little juridical value. Moreover a close reading of the preamble shows no evidence of a mandate to recognize the right to life of the unborn child or of a redefinition of the term "child" to encompass the fetus. What the preamble does do is lend authority to the already widespread practice of individual stakes taking whatever measures they consider appropriate to protect the fetus. The preambles recognition that the fetus is deserving of appropriate protection cannot be interpreted as an endorsement of the right to life per se and experience has shown that increasing the level of protection awarded to the fetus does not have to imply any restrictions on the availability of legal abortion.
In this paper, I present a viewpoint about prevention and spina bifida that is not usually expressed within the occupational therapy literature. Using an autoethnographic account, I convey my experiences as a person with impairments from spina bifida in order to problematize current preventive efforts undertaken to eradicate this birth defect. This self-reflexive account connects my personal experiences to historical and medical views about spina bifida. The messages inherent in preventive efforts are discussed from a disability rights perspective. Occupational therapists are challenged to examine their attitudes toward disability, act as advocates in their practice, and, in a more informed manner, support or contest policy initiatives.
It was a warm summer day more than 30 years ago when my laboratory assistant and collaborator, Wanda Kuhl, showed me some unusual results. Our laboratory had devised a facile method for measuring white blood cell glucocerebrosidase activity and was performing family studies to determine the efficiency of this technique for the detection of heterozygotes for Gaucher disease. But here was a sample from an obligate heterozygote, the mother of a patient with Gaucher disease, in which the range of enzyme activity was as low as in the patient. Bone marrow examination in this 72-year-old asymptomatic parent confirmed that she also had Gaucher disease.1 Discovery of Gaucher disease in an older, asymptomatic individual was by no means unique—the disease had previously been detected in such persons, including one person who was aged 86 years.2 However, many persons homozygous for the N370S mutation associated with Gaucher disease are never diagnosed; based on the discrepancy between the heterozygote frequency and the number of patients diagnosed, an estimated 60% of such homozygous patients may go undiagnosed.3
Abortion law reform focuses on early abortion. Women wanting to have a family who have a fetal abnormality detected later in pregnancy are neglected in the debate and harmed by the consequences of current legal uncertainty. Unclear abortion laws compromise: the quality of prenatal testing; management when an abnormality is found; and patient care, through obstetricians' fears of legal repercussions. Women carrying a fetus with an abnormality are being denied abortion, even when the abnormality is so severe that non-treatment would be an option if the baby were born. Many women are likely to refuse to consider motherhood if they are denied appropriate prenatal testing and access to abortion if serious abnormalities are detected. Current abortion laws result in discriminatory and inconsistent practices, where access to prenatal testing and termination of pregnancy depends on location, the values of the treating doctor or hospital ethics committee, and a woman's personal resources. Legal certainty is needed to reduce the suffering of couples wanting to have a family.