right-to-life

Top

Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary

(rīt'tə-līf')
adj.
Supporting full legal protection of human embryos or fetuses; pro-life.

right-to-lifer right'-to-lif'er n.

right to life

Top

Home > Library > History, Politics & Society > Political Dictionary

More a slogan than a precisely defined term. Hobbes argued that each human being has a fundamental duty of self-preservation, and hence a natural right to do whatever conduces to it. In Hobbes's social contract, however, rational individuals hand over all their rights to the person or body they nominate as their sovereign, all of whose actions they are thereby deemed to authorize. Hobbes's absolutism has just one exception: that, as the purpose of signing the social contract was to preserve oneself, the Sovereign cannot order a subject to kill him- or herself. Locke described civil society as an association for the ‘mutual Preservation of their Lives, Liberties, and Properties’, and this assertion is the ancestor of the claim in the American Declaration of Independence that: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness.’

Despite this high backing, the right to life is not an absolute right. Both Britain and America have had provision for capital punishment: Britain until 1967, and many US states to the present day. Attempts to have capital punishment declared unconstitutional have failed. Both countries have had provision for military conscription. Hobbes recognized that his political theory did not grant a right to life guaranteed by discussing the biblical story of Uriah the Hittite, whom King David sent to the wars in the (correct) expectation that Uriah would be killed, as David was having an affair with Uriah's wife. Hobbes insisted that David had not violated Uriah's rights, which makes it hard to see what rights Uriah had.

The right to life is also used as a slogan in contemporary argument about abortion (see also pro-life) and euthanasia. ‘Right to Life’ is shorthand for the views of those militantly opposed to abortion, especially in the United States, because they argue that the foetus has an unconditional right to life. Those who favour euthanasia argue that if one has a right to one's life, one has a right to choose to end it. One might expect an association between opposing abortion and favouring euthanasia. However, the association tends the other way, partly because militant anti-abortionists are often Christian fundamentalists, who are among those who think that the taking of the life of an unborn foetus and of someone who wishes to die are equally forbidden.

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'right-to-life'

Top

Home > Library > Literature & Language > Word Menu Categories

Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier

For a list of words related to right-to-life, see:

Attitudes and Behavior - right-to-life: (adj) pertaining to opposition to right to legal abortion based on belief that fetus is a person

Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Right to life

Top

Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia

For other uses, see Right to life (disambiguation).

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 euthanasia, capital punishment, abortion, self defense and war.^{[citation needed]}

Contents

1 Juridical rhetoric
2 Abortion debate framing
3 Ethics and right to life
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

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:

“

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

”

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. Protocol 13 provides for the total abolition of capital punishment, and has been implemented in most member countries of the Council.
In 1966, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.

“	Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.	”
—Article 6.1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

In 1982, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms enshrined that

“	Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.	”
—Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

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 framing

The term "right to life" is a rhetorical device used in the abortion debate by pro-life proponents.^[2] Pro-life advocates argue that prenatal humans are human persons and have the same fundamental "right to life" as humans have after birth. Generally speaking, those identifying themselves as "right-to-life" believe abortion is impermissible.

The term "right to choice" is a rhetorical device used in the abortion debate by abortion-rights proponents. Abortion rights advocates argue that prenatal humans are not human persons and do not have the same fundamental "right to life" as humans after birth. The distinction is that a human becomes a person and is given rights after birth. Generally speaking, those identifying themselves as "right-to-choice" are advocates for legal elective abortion. At the same time, some advocates for legalized abortion state that they simply do not know for sure where in pregnancy life begins; then-Senator Barack Obama took this view in the 2008 election.^[3] Other advocates have stated that they hold personal views against abortion but do not support putting those beliefs into law; then-Senator Joe Biden took this view in the 2008 election.^[4]

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 non-human animals, such as other 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.^[5]

References

^ Pontifical Council for the Family. The Family and Human Rights Vatican website. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
^ Solomon, Martha. "The Rhetoric of Right to Life: Beyond the Court's Decision" Paper presented at the Southern Speech Communication Association (Atlanta, Georgia, April 4-7, 1978)
^ Dinan, Stephen (August 17, 2008). "Obama, McCain air moral, ethical views". The Washington Times. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/aug/17/obama-mccain-air-moral-ethical-views/. Retrieved January 7, 2010. "Sen. Barack Obama Saturday said that defining when life begins is "above my pay grade"."
^ Phillips, Kate (September 7, 2008). "As a Matter of Faith, Biden Says Life Begins at Conception". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/08/us/politics/08campaign.html. Retrieved January 7, 2010. "Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic nominee for vice president, departed Sunday from party doctrine on abortion rights, declaring that as a Catholic, he believes life begins at conception. But the Delaware senator added that he would not impose his personal views on others, and had indeed voted against curtailing abortion rights and against criminalizing abortion."
^ Singer, Peter. Practical ethics Cambridge University Press (1993), 2nd revised ed., ISBN 0-521-43971-X

External links

Right to Life on the Children's Rights Portal

Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

General principles

Article 1: Freedom, Egalitarianism, Dignity and Brotherhood Article 2: Universality of rights

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Articles 1 and 2: Right to freedom from discrimination
Article 3: Right to life, liberty and security of person
Article 4: Freedom from slavery
Article 5: Freedom from torture or cruel and unusual punishment
Article 6: Right to personhood
Article 7: Equality before the law
Article 8: Right to effective remedy from the law
Article 9: Freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention or exile
Article 10: Right to a fair trial
Article 11.1: Presumption of innocence
Article 11.2: Prohibition of retrospective law
Article 12: Right to privacy
Article 13.1: Freedom of movement
Article 13.2: Right of return
Article 14: Right of asylum
Article 15: Right to a nationality
Article 16: Right to marriage and family life
Article 17: Right to property
Article 18: Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
Article 19: Freedom of opinion and expression and information
Article 20.1: Freedom of assembly
Article 20.2: Freedom of association
Article 21.1: Right to participation in government
Article 21.2: Right of equal access to public office
Article 21.3: Right to universal suffrage

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Article 22: Right to social security
Article 23.1: Right to work
Article 23.2: Right to equal pay for equal work
Article 23.3: Right to just remuneration
Article 23.4: Right to join a trade union
Article 24: Right to rest and leisure
Article 25.1: Right to an adequate standard of living
Article 25.2: Right to special care and assistance for mothers and children
Article 26.1: Right to education
Article 26.2: Human rights education
Article 26.3: Right to choice of education
Article 27: Right to science and culture

Context, limitations and duties

Article 28: Social order
Article 29.1: Social responsibility
Article 29.2: Limitations of human rights
Article 29.3: The supremacy of the purposes and principles of the United Nations
Article 30: Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

Human rights category · Human rights portal

v t e Substantive human rights

Note: What is considered a human right is controversial and not all the topics listed are universally accepted as human rights.

Civil and political	Equality before the law Freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment Freedom from discrimination Freedom from exile Freedom from slavery Freedom from torture Freedom of assembly Freedom of association Freedom of information Freedom of movement Freedom of religion Freedom of speech Freedom of thought Liberty Marriage Family LGBT rights Nationality Personhood Presumption of innocence Privacy Right of asylum Right to a fair trial Right to die Right to keep and bear arms Right to life Right to protest Security of person Universal suffrage

Economic, social and cultural	Equal pay for equal work Fair remuneration Labor rights Right to an adequate standard of living Right to development Right to education Right to food Right to health Right to housing Right to clothing Right to Internet access Right to property Right to public participation Right of return Right to science and culture Right to social security Right to water Right to work Trade union membership

Reproductive	Abortion Family planning Freedom from involuntary female genital mutilation Reproductive health

War and conflict	Civilian Combatant Freedom from genocide Prisoner of war War rape

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Donate to Wikimedia

Help us answer these

What is the right of life?

rights to life?

Is the right to a private life a qualified right?

Why right to life does not allow right to die?

Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

Copyrights:

Cite

American Heritage Dictionary The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read

Cite

Wikipedia on Answers.com This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Right to life. Read