The Status of Life until Birth in the Law – Problematic Aspects of Terminology
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Abstract
This article analyzes some problematic aspects of defining the status of human life until birth which are related to improper use of concepts in the law. Examples analyzed in the article show that Lithuanian rules of law regulating various aspects related to the legal status of human life until birth, use different concepts to describe life until birth; also the same concepts describe different objects. Thus in Positive Law, especially in its integrative sciences, regulation gaps and legal collisions occur, the law is not able to reach its aims, thereby its efficiency diminishes. This problem remains topical preparing new drafts of legal acts. Therefore in this article it is concluded that the Positive Law does not properly solve the issue of the central subject, common to all sciences of law – regulation and protection of the beginning of human life.
Not confining to showing contradictions and gaps in regulation established in the Positive Law, this article tries to look for and finds origins of these problems: the meaning of concepts used in legal acts is usually not related to the meaning given to them by special life sciences.
Therefore, the methodological premise is formulated in conclusions of the analysis. This premise states that legislative subjects regulating the status of human life until birth, should use the concepts provided by biology science to describe this stage of human evolution, and to describe them clearly in legal acts.
This premise is made because human life until birth is the research object of life sciences. That is why the law should use the results of research of these sciences by adopting them via interdisciplinary dialogue between sciences of law and life.
Theory of law and law sociology emphasize the necessity of compliance to this premise, because only then the effective discussion about the legal status of human life until birth becomes possible. And only then it becomes possible to establish and develop the national concept of protection of human life until birth in Lithuania, also considering national culture, traditions, priorities, historical experience and its determined factors.
And on the contrary – if this premise is not understood or followed, the law which is being developed becomes potentially less effective. In this way the protection of the human life until birth or any other related legal good may become fiction not only in national but also in international level.
Not confining to showing contradictions and gaps in regulation established in the Positive Law, this article tries to look for and finds origins of these problems: the meaning of concepts used in legal acts is usually not related to the meaning given to them by special life sciences.
Therefore, the methodological premise is formulated in conclusions of the analysis. This premise states that legislative subjects regulating the status of human life until birth, should use the concepts provided by biology science to describe this stage of human evolution, and to describe them clearly in legal acts.
This premise is made because human life until birth is the research object of life sciences. That is why the law should use the results of research of these sciences by adopting them via interdisciplinary dialogue between sciences of law and life.
Theory of law and law sociology emphasize the necessity of compliance to this premise, because only then the effective discussion about the legal status of human life until birth becomes possible. And only then it becomes possible to establish and develop the national concept of protection of human life until birth in Lithuania, also considering national culture, traditions, priorities, historical experience and its determined factors.
And on the contrary – if this premise is not understood or followed, the law which is being developed becomes potentially less effective. In this way the protection of the human life until birth or any other related legal good may become fiction not only in national but also in international level.
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Authors retain copyright of their work, with first publication rights granted to the Association for Learning Technology.
Please see Copyright and Licence Agreement for further details.
