REVIEW OF THE FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT TO LIFE VIZ A VIZ GLOBAL ABORTION LAWS: MAKING A CASE FOR THE UNBORN

Abstract

An increasing number of women from across the globe now view abortion as their fundamental right. On the one
hand, the right to abort unborn babies is viewed as being part and parcel of the third generation right couched as the
right of women to reproductive health; on the other hand, it is viewed as being part of a woman’s right to her privacy.
The major contention is that a woman should not be compelled to carry pregnancy to term when she is not mentally,
economically or otherwise ready to do so; and since abortion is a delicate medical process which can endanger the life
of the woman if not done well or if done by unqualified medics, the law should preserve the life of women as well as
their sensibilities by making abortion legal. In fact it is argued that whatever a woman chooses to do with her body,
which is meant to include her pregnancy so to say, is her private business and should not attract the attention of the
law or the public. The argument sounds very cogent but the question that refuses to go away is “what about the
unborn child?” does he/she have the right to live or is that subject to the will of the would be mother and the whim
of the government of the day? This research work sifted through already existing laws to find that the unborn are
also protected by law and have the right to live. Recommendations are made towards harnessing these laws for the
protection of the rights of both mother and the unborn child.