How Does A Foetus Become A Human In Being
Question 1
When does a foetus become a human “in being”? Discuss.
When a foetus is killed in the womb it cannot be a victim of homicide although other statutory (offences) exist. Therefore, for a human to become a person “in being”, the child must be wholly expelled from the mother while having a separate existence from her. In Enoch , if a child is breathing before it has been born, that does not necessarily constitute life to make the killing of such a child murder. In fact, for the foetus to be considered a human “in being”, there must be independent circulation existing in the child for the child to be considered alive. Such requirements can become an issue as the foetus inside the womb has independent circulation within two months of …show more content…
For example, in Attorney-General’s Reference , the victim was stabbed by her boyfriend while she was between 22-24 weeks pregnant. However, despite her recovering from the wound, 17 days later she gave birth to a premature baby and it later died 121 days later. The court held that there were no requirements for a person who had died to be “in being” when the act which caused the death was perpetrated. If a man had injured the foetus and the baby was then born alive but subsequently died from the injuries, the concept of a human being would be satisfied for the purposes of a homicide offence. In fact, according to the attorney general, an embryo is not an integral part of its mother therefore a child cannot die unless it has lived outside of the mother. The Belize Criminal Code s.126 further explains that, it is, either murder or manslaughter (as the case may be) to cause death to the child after it becomes a person within the meaning of this section by the means of harm caused to it before it became such a person . Consequently, when the following requirements listed above are satisfied a child is born whether the umbilical cord has been detached. Additionally, there are no requirements stating that the child should be viable (i.e.: capable of sustained survival)
When does a foetus become a human “in being”? Discuss.
When a foetus is killed in the womb it cannot be a victim of homicide although other statutory (offences) exist. Therefore, for a human to become a person “in being”, the child must be wholly expelled from the mother while having a separate existence from her. In Enoch , if a child is breathing before it has been born, that does not necessarily constitute life to make the killing of such a child murder. In fact, for the foetus to be considered a human “in being”, there must be independent circulation existing in the child for the child to be considered alive. Such requirements can become an issue as the foetus inside the womb has independent circulation within two months of …show more content…
For example, in Attorney-General’s Reference , the victim was stabbed by her boyfriend while she was between 22-24 weeks pregnant. However, despite her recovering from the wound, 17 days later she gave birth to a premature baby and it later died 121 days later. The court held that there were no requirements for a person who had died to be “in being” when the act which caused the death was perpetrated. If a man had injured the foetus and the baby was then born alive but subsequently died from the injuries, the concept of a human being would be satisfied for the purposes of a homicide offence. In fact, according to the attorney general, an embryo is not an integral part of its mother therefore a child cannot die unless it has lived outside of the mother. The Belize Criminal Code s.126 further explains that, it is, either murder or manslaughter (as the case may be) to cause death to the child after it becomes a person within the meaning of this section by the means of harm caused to it before it became such a person . Consequently, when the following requirements listed above are satisfied a child is born whether the umbilical cord has been detached. Additionally, there are no requirements stating that the child should be viable (i.e.: capable of sustained survival)