Jakub Valc
Author’s affiliation: Faculty of Law, Masaryk University Brno

Current and Future Role of Law in the Protection of Unborn Life in the Context of Biomedical Development

Jurisprudence 4/2017 Section: Articles Page: 14-23

Keywords: human life, human nature, unborn child, biomedicine, biopower, surrogacy

Abstract: Due to the progressive development of biomedicine, scientists have been able to influence the development of a human being in the prenatal period for some time. This is associated with many problems not only of an ethical but also of a legal nature, which have an impact on the legal significance of the value of human life and on the preservation of its nature. The aim of this article is to highlight the fact that the legislature is unable to efficiently and flexibly respond, in various aspects, to the penetration of genetic engineering into more and more areas of social life. Initially, attention shall be on the biological, moral and legal status of an unborn child in the context of legal regulations that allow destructive interference in its essence and natural development. Subsequently, focus shall be oriented on the philosophical and legal analysis of the issue of biopower and its potential ability to substitute the legislative action of the legislature, which we will try to demonstrate on the Czech legal environment with respect to the current and still unresolved issue of surrogacy.


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