| Abstract: | This article examines the scope of application of Article 2of the European Convention on Human Rights, to the unborn foetus.The focus of the articles is on the case of Vo v France, and,in particular, on the jurisprudence of the European Court ofHuman Rights on a state's obligation to protect life in respectof both voluntary and involuntary, negligent terminations ofpregnancies. The last part of the article reviews abortion lawsin Europe and the US and suggests that a gradualist moral perspectiveon the status of the embryo could justify the imposition ofcriminal penalties for foetal death caused by violent conductagainst a pregnant woman without prejudice to the rights ofthe woman. |
