Legal pragmatism and the pre-birth continuum: an absence of unifying principle.

Stewart, P; Stuhmcke, A

Legal pragmatism and the pre-birth continuum: an absence of unifying principle.

Stewart, P

Stuhmcke, A

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of law and medicine, 2007, 15 (2), pp. 272 - 295
Issue Date:: 2007-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Stewart, P https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4350-878X	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Stuhmcke, A https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3679-7301	en_US
dc.date.issued	2007-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of law and medicine, 2007, 15 (2), pp. 272 - 295	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1320-159X	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/973
dc.description.abstract	The common law has historically been clear - the rights of the unborn do not exist prior to birth. A child becomes a legal person and able to enforce legal rights upon being born alive and having a separate existence from her or his mother. This article assesses whether new developments in biomedical technologies have left this legal principle inviolate and explores what the state of law is in relation to pre-birth. It argues that there is a pre-birth continuum where the law punctuates points in a lineal timeline fashion as to when a pre-birth "non-entity" becomes a legal entity. The article concludes that there is no singular rule of law with respect to being or becoming a human but rather a collection of discrete and increasingly divergent legal categories. This recognition of a pre-birth continuum or timeline as to the legal recognition of this "non-entity" has significant ramifications for the future development of law and impacts on legal thinking about what it means to be human.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of law and medicine	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Fetus	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Pregnancy	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Human Rights	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Biomedical Technology	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Beginning of Human Life	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Legislation, Medical	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Female	en_US
dc.title	Legal pragmatism and the pre-birth continuum: an absence of unifying principle.	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	15	en_US
utslib.for	1801 Law	en_US
utslib.for	11 Medical and Health Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	18 Law and Legal Studies	en_US
utslib.for	22 Philosophy and Religious Studies	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Law
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - HJ - Health Justice
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	2	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	15	en_US

Abstract:

The common law has historically been clear - the rights of the unborn do not exist prior to birth. A child becomes a legal person and able to enforce legal rights upon being born alive and having a separate existence from her or his mother. This article assesses whether new developments in biomedical technologies have left this legal principle inviolate and explores what the state of law is in relation to pre-birth. It argues that there is a pre-birth continuum where the law punctuates points in a lineal timeline fashion as to when a pre-birth "non-entity" becomes a legal entity. The article concludes that there is no singular rule of law with respect to being or becoming a human but rather a collection of discrete and increasingly divergent legal categories. This recognition of a pre-birth continuum or timeline as to the legal recognition of this "non-entity" has significant ramifications for the future development of law and impacts on legal thinking about what it means to be human.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/973