Do you think unborn babies should have human rights?

Question

In the UK they do not, in the US I believe there are rights in place for unborn babies and this has led to some pregnant Women being prosecuted for drug taking and the like in pregnancy-(quoting my uni lecturer.) Do you think there should be laws in the UK that are similar? it would mean people could be prosecuted for deaths of unborn children, expecting parents could be held accountable for their childs poor health and so on, what's your opinion?

Can I just add that I am not saying they should or shouldn't I am just interested in people opinions.

Answer 1

All human beings who are alive of course has human rights. The unborn baby which is still ;inside the womb of her or his mother which is called fetus could not still excise the said rights he is still inside the womb. The supposed mother has covered the rights of such baby. Killing of the fetus is called ab ortion which is punishable in many countries if not all countries If there is no such law in the United Kingdom about the killing of said fetus, their government should do positive actions for the punishment of offenders for abortion.

Answer 2

Good Q. I believe unborn babies should not have any rights while they are dependant on the mother. It is scientifically proven that the baby does become aware of their existence after a certain amount of time in the womb. Once that point has passed I beleive they should be represented & have rights in the outside world. Rights that stand for the babies health & quality of life. I don't think anyone should be prosecuted but forced to respect the unborn & live under doctor rule to ensure the safety & health of the unborn is maintained till birth. To prosecute is fighting evil with evil, easy way out for the Authorities, money for the Lawyers, power to the police, creates more unneeded stress. Prosecution does not address the issues of the unborn child's right to start life in the best given (Godly if religious) way.

Answer 3

Yes possibly after a certain point in the pregnancy. Given the abortion laws (up to 24 weeks I think?), you couldn't get prosecuted for harming an unborn baby through drugs if you would have been legally allowed to abort it anyway.

So maybe after this date where the baby is more developed? I know you could argue that if the mother has been allowed to take drugs from the offset the damage is probably irreversable by week 24 but like I said above, implementing the baby's rights any earlier would contradict abortion laws. The baby is so vulnerable inside the womb, it has no choice but to absorb anything the mother gives it and therefore I think deserves our protection.

This law would be very difficult to define though, eg, what if a woman lifted a heavy box at work which caused harm, or tripped and fell but there were no witnesses! It might have to be limited it to drugs, cigs and alcohol and evidence would be needed.

Answer 4

Absolutely not. There are enough incidents of parents going to prison accused of murdering their babies as it is, so you can imagine how much injustice there would be in the world if parents were held accountable for miscarriages and ill health in new born babies. I think despite all the horror stories out there, the majority of women are quite responsible when they get pregnant. You are responsible for your own body and how you chose to use it. If you became legally accountable for unborn babies, this would surely mean that abortions would also become illegal? I'm all for protecting children obviously, and agree that women should behave responsibily when they are carrying a baby, but at the same time, I don't think they should be open to prosecution should anything happen.

Answer 5

The unborn should have human rights. Abortion should become a thing of the past. Prosecuting parents for the poor health their children, is quite a different matter. I would not want any UK laws to be based on USA laws, we need our own well thought out law.
Any law that allows a mother to be prosecuted for the harm her habits do to her unborn child, and yet still permits abortion is indulging in hypocrisy, and therefore anathema. We need laws that make sense.

Answer 6

Yes and No.

There should be some rights for the baby and responcibilities for the mother. However at what point do you decide that the baby is alive ?

There are some dangers. Could a mother be prosecuted for over drinking or smoking before she knew she was pregnant ? although it's always saddening to see a hevly pregnant woman smoking 40 a day :(

I think most people are responsible enough in life that this shouldn't be an issue.

I think the problem arrises when the abortion debate starts are people can be very fanatical about.

Answer 7

Independent Being... interesting concept.

I wonder where we draw the line as to what classifies a person as being an "independent being".

Is a person who require a procedure such as kidney dialysis to survive a "independent being".

How about a parapalegic who requires a respirator to breath. Are they "independent beings".

Men and women who have to rely on a pacemakers to keep their hearts beating. Are they "independent beings".

How are they any *more* independent than a unborn baby who is relying on their mothers body to sustain their lives until they enter the world and do so for themselves? Just because you can't "see" them and they don't have names yet doesn't mean that they are any less of a "being" as a person who you can see and does have a name who *depends* on some other outside force to survive. Where do you draw the line? A person could and would be held accountable for bringing harm to anyone of these other types of individuals.

Unborn babies that can reasonably be expected to survive outside of a womb is a life worthy of protecting their right to live. Anyone who brings harm to these "beings" should be punished for abuse or child endangerment. For goodness sakes there are laws against abusing corpses. How can we not believe there should be laws protecting a life that could live unaided at the time of the supposed abuse.

I know I am not from the UK and I should probably not be imposing myself into your debate but I wanted to give a perspective that as of yet I hadn't seen delivered.

Excellent question by the way.... Absolutely excellent.

Answer 8

I think that unborn babies should absolutely have human rights. They may not be of this world as of yet but they are human beings.

Unfortunately, for a good few weeks of pregnancy, they are not classed as human because the embryo is the same as any other mammals embryo and therefore as far as the law is concerned, as a pregnant woman, you could be carrying a dolphin, a monkey, or a domestic pet!!!

Pathetic isn't it?

It gives new meaning to the phrase "Your mother slept with a donkey", but mind you, in this case, the law is definitely an ***!!

Having said that, my 8 year old son is a little monster.....!!!!

Best regards

Geordie

Answer 9

Unborn babies should have rights and be protected.

People that think life magically begins the moment a baby leaves the mother are wrong. A baby starts to feel pain and have a heart beat months before birth.

Mothers that abuse drugs and alcohol during pregnancy cost the NHS a fortune. Babies born prematurely, malnourished or suffering withdrawal because their mother was irresponsible are a huge expense and take medical care away from others.

Answer 10

Not that long ago women, blacks, asians, western indians weren't considered human and had no rights and couldn't vote or own land. They WERE property.
We are disgusted by this now, but it was a normal way of thinking for (in some societies) millennia.
I think fetal rights is the same. Unborn babies have been scientifically shown to think, feel pain, turn away from light or pain, and other things.

Why is it a baby a human when born (or C-section born) at 6 or 7 months of pregnancy and everything's done to help them survive, yet if the same baby was still in the womb it isn't considered a person?

It's not like before we're born we're a loaf of bread or a pair of socks. We're people from the moment of conception. People who don't agree don't want to accept the inconvenient truth. Then there's have to be changes to abortion access laws, stem cell research, fertility clinic & embryo storage facilities and so on.

As for unborn babies not being 'independent'... newborn babies, young babies, physically and mentally handicapped people of all ages, very elderly people are not independent, yet they are considered people, considered human.

Good question!