A Review of the Italian Supreme Court Case on Foetus Killing from Legal and Bioethical Perspectives
Abstract
In January 2019, the Italian Supreme Court of Cessation held in a case (Judgement Number 27539) a midwife liable for culpable homicide for the death of a foetus during labour due to her inaction. This paper reviews the judgment from international child law and bioethical perspectives. It also seeks to answer a question as to when human life starts in the mother’s womb and also whether there should be any differentiation between a “potential” human life and “actual” human life.
Keywords-Abortion, Bioethics, Child, Foetus, Italy, Law
Acknowledgement: This paper is done as part of the research project on Abortion under International and Islamic law funded by the author’s employer, Eastern University (Dhaka, Bangladesh).