SEOUL, South Korea, JULY 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The South Korean Supreme Court ruled that an unborn child will not be considered human until the mother goes into labor.
This definition came in a court decision late last week that cleared a midwife of negligent homicide charges, AsiaNews reported.
In 2001, the mother consulted a midwife at a facility in Seoul as the expected birth date approached, although she felt no labor pains. The midwife told the mother to wait two weeks, during which time the baby died of cerebral damage.
The Supreme Court upheld an acquittal of the midwife, ruling that the unborn baby was not a human being, and thus no homicide took place.
The ruling stated that "even if a Caesarean section was possible, the mother did not have labor pains, which is the beginning of childbirth, thus the unborn baby cannot be recognized as a human being."
"Every country has slightly different legal grounds on when to consider an unborn a human being, but no country has such a definitive ruling that an unborn baby is not a human being," said Father Lee Dong-ik, professor of medicine at the Catholic University of Korea and a member of the bioethics committee of the Korean bishops' conference.
This sentence "is a social defeat," underlined Father Lee. "We are living in an era in which a 21-week unborn child can be saved with an incubator. It is unacceptable to see a verdict where a 42-week unborn is not considered a human being."
ZE07071602 - 2007-07-16