Biomedicine, biotechnology and the European Convention on Human Rights : life before birth

Abstract

The development of new technologies brings with it new possibilities but also new challenges. At the same time, old challenges remain which put human lives at risk. This is particularly true when it comes to the questions which hit at the heart of our human nature: when does life begin? Who is Human? In particular unborn children are at risk because often it will be their parents, the very persons who are supposed to love and protect them, who will find themselves in a situation in which they mistakenly consider killing the unborn child to be a solution to financial or other problems. In this article it will be argued that the unborn child does indeed have human dignity and the right to life – as does every human being from the moment of conception.