A foetus during labour is legally a human being. (April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cioffi, Andrea; Cioffi, Fernanda
• Is Part Of: Medicine, science and the law. Volume 60:Number 2(2020)
• Page Start: 161
• Page End: 162
• Publication Date: 2020-04
• Subjects: Abortion -- birth -- homicide -- medical law -- child -- law; Forensic sciences -- Periodicals; Medical laws and legislation -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; 614.105
• DOI: 10.1177/0025802419881568
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0025-8024

Abstract

On 30 January 2019, in a case involving a midwife who caused the death of a foetus, the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation established that the foetus during labour, while still within the maternal womb, is a human being with all associated rights (judgment number 27539). This claim has an obvious legal consequence: anyone causing the death of a foetus during labour is guilty not of culpable abortion but of culpable homicide. This ruling paves the way for legal and bioethical debate aimed at establishing the precise moment when a foetus is no longer a potential human being but an actual human being. The consequences of this ruling will also be evident in the debate on abortion.