The legal status and protection of unborn human life: an approach from the perspective of human dignity.

Current Belgian law regarding unborn human life lacks clarity, and is inconsistent and incoherent. The few relevant legal provisions are compartmentalised in different instruments and legal domains, and available case law is quite divergent. That piecemeal approach leads to legal uncertainty. The same is true on the international level, in human rights instruments and case law. Hence, the purpose of this project is to develop a coherent and consistent approach towards unborn human life in Belgian law. It is hypothesized that the concept of human dignity can fulfill a key function, when formulated as an operational principle on the basis of which the law on unborn human life can be reformulated. This function is already hinted at in international instruments and case law, with regard to entities to which human rights protection is not (yet) applicable as such. With a view to further operationalization, the current Belgian framework, including international and European law (descriptive part) will be evaluated through functional comparison with the French, Dutch, and federal German and United States jurisdictions (evaluative part). Ultimately, the principle of human dignity and the results of the comparative research will be used to propose and elaborate a coherent and consistent approach to unborn human life in Belgian law (normative part).

Keywords:LAW OF PERSONS, UNBORN HUMAN LIFE, HUMAN DIGNITY, HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

Disciplines:Family law