right-to-life

Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union affirms the right to life.

Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being. The concept of a right to life is central to debates on the issues of capital punishment, euthanasia, self defense, abortion and war.

Juridical rhetoric

• In 1776, the United States Declaration of Independence declared that all men are endowed with certain inalienable rights, and that "among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness".

• In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly declared in article three:

• In 1950, the European Convention on Human Rights was adopted by the Council of Europe, declaring a protected human right to life in Article 2. There are exceptions for lawful executions and self-defense, arresting a fleeing suspect, and suppressing riots and insurrections. Since then Protocol 6 of the Convention has called for nations to outlaw capital punishment except in time of war or national emergency, and at present this pertains in all countries of the Council except Russia. Protocol 13 provides for the total abolition of capital punishment, and has been implemented in most member countries of the Council.

• In 1989, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

• The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany holds the principle of human dignity paramount, even above the right to life.

• The Catholic Church has issued a Charter of the Rights of the Family^[1]in which it states that the right to life is directly implied by human dignity.

Abortion debate rhetoric

The term "right to life" is a rhetorical device used in the abortion debate by anti-abortion proponents.^[2] Pro-life advocates argue that embryos, zygotes and fetuses are unborn human beings who have the same fundamental "right to life" as that of a human being after birth. Generally speaking, those identifying themselves as "right-to-life" are strongly opposed to abortion. The term "right to choice" is a rhetorical device used in the abortion debate by abortion proponents. Pro-Choice advocates argue that embryos, zygotes and fetuses are only potential human beings who do not have the same fundamental "right to life" as that of a human being after birth the distinction is that a human being becomes a person and given rights at birth. Generally speaking, those identifying themselves as "right-to-choice" are strong advocates for free and legal abortion.

Ethics and right to life

Many utilitarian ethicists argue that the "right to life," where it exists, depends on conditions other than membership of the human species. The philosopher Peter Singer is a notable proponent of this argument. For Singer, the right to life is grounded in the ability to plan and anticipate one's future. This extends the concept to animals, such as apes, but since the unborn, infants and severely disabled people lack this, he states that abortion, painless infanticide and euthanasia can be "justified" (but are not obligatory) in certain special circumstances, for instance in the case of severely disabled infants whose life would cause suffering both to themselves and to their parents.^[3]

See also

• Culture of life
• Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
• Pro-life
• Right to die
• Sanctity of life
• Terri Schiavo
• National Right to Life Committee
• Consistent life ethic or seamless garment

References

External links