“The fetus is fully produced and establishes an independent circulation before it can be considered a human being. Independent circulation can be established by proving that the fetus has breathed, but such evidence is usually inconclusive if there is no evidence of life, such as crying. This was obviously taken up by William Blackstone, who in Book 1 of his 1756 treatise, The Commentaries on the Laws of England, at page 129, defined life in similar spiritual terms: The problem of defining life is discussed, using Herman Dooyeweerd`s philosophy of the cosmonomimic idea as a basis, which affirms that life is indefinable. Contemporary legal and philosophical writings on the exact moments of life and death are explored. While recognizing the importance of these in determining the exact beginning and end of the legal person, the author concludes that the notion of life is unfathomable. In People v. Selwa, Judge Markman of the Michigan Court of Appeals, had a tragic series of facts before him. A car accident led to a pregnant woman being taken to hospital, where staff decided to save the fetus. The baby was born non-viable and when the life support was removed a few hours later, the child died. A murder can only be considered a criminal murder if the victim is a living human being. It is therefore important to define what constitutes life and what constitutes death. The question of what constitutes life usually arises only in situations where a fetus is killed.
The common law rule states that a fetus is not considered a living human being until it is born alive. Thus, if an accused kills a pregnant woman, he can only be charged with murder for killing the mother, but no charges can be brought against him for the death of the fetus. Some jurisdictions have departed from the common law rule and held that a fetus is considered a living human being if it was viable outside the womb at the time of its killing. Thus, if an accused kills a pregnant woman and the woman is sufficiently advanced in her pregnancy that the fetus could have lived outside her at the time the mother was killed, the defendant is charged with two counts of murder, one for the mother and one for the fetus. However, if the fetus could not survive outside the mother at the time of the mother`s murder, the defendant may be charged with the murder of the mother, but not at all with the death of the fetus. Some jurisdictions have gone even further and defined murder as the unlawful killing of a human being or fetus with intent. “Living in Being”. Merriam-Webster.com Legal Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/legal/life%20in%20being. Retrieved 16 October 2022. PIP: The law itself cannot define life.
Nor can biology and psychology completely define life. Life defines itself. The use of logical reasoning to filter out a particular moment in the prenatal development process of the unborn child, when life in the sense of personality actually begins, has been inspired by ulterior motives, particularly the desire for a scientific basis for a particular point of view in the abortion debate. Science is misused to legitimize a preconceived prejudice against abortion. The ultimate view of medico-legal issues such as abortion and euthanasia is rooted in pre-scientific moral perceptions and religious beliefs, not science. On the other hand, there is the fact that the law does not exist in a vacuum. It has territorial boundaries, it has a power structure and a social environment. With the same reasoning, the law itself, in its own structure, presupposes the concept of life itself, that is, the law regulates the actions of living persons. Law has a specific function in human society, the definitions of its concepts and the substance of its norms must remain subordinate to its function. Regarding the timing of death, the traditional rule was that death occurred when the victim`s heart rate and respiratory functions stopped. See Thomas v. Anderson, 96 Cal.
App. 2D 371 (1950). However, more modern laws have defined death as the cessation of brain function. See State v. Fierro, 603 p.2d 74 (Ariz. 1979). The 1969 American Legal Dictionary, known as Ballentine`s Law Dictionary, defines life simply as “existence as a living being.” “Physiology defines life as existing from the moment of conception. In many ways, the law of physiology recognizes the fact that life begins at conception, in its mother`s womb, and is life for all intents and purposes, but to create a civil status, a child must be born. The circulatory system must be changed, and the child must have independent circulation.
However, the umbilical cord does not need to be cut. “A child is born alive and is therefore a person within the meaning of the Homicide by Negligence Act if, after the expulsion or removal of its mother, there is no irreversible cessation of respiratory and circulatory functions or brain functions.” “Life,” according to the 27th issue of Stedman`s, “is the condition of being alive; the state of existence, which is characterized by functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, adaptation and response to stimuli.” The state of animals and plants or of an organized being in which its natural functions and movements are performed or in which its organs are able to perform their functions. Weaver. The sum of the forces with which death is resisted. Richat. “. the immediate gift of God and a right inherited from nature in every human being. a state in which the energy of the function always resists decomposition and dissolution. “There can be no murder without a living human being being being the victim. The murder of an unborn child was not a common law murder because the fetus was not considered a person. It was necessary for the child to be born alive and exist independently of its mother`s body before it could be considered a person. In the lively 1924 case, United States v.
24 Live Silver Black Foxes, Judge Neterer of the United States District Court wrote: “Life must be a state in which the energy of function always resists decay and dissolution and, for many legal purposes, begins in the period of acceleration. Historically, a conviction for infanticide requires the murder of a living person, a live birth; The victim must still be alive at the time of the offence for the homicide to occur.1.