Fetal rights refer to the rights of an unborn child, with debates centering around when a fetus becomes a human being with rights. The issue is often linked to abortion, but also arises in cases of harm to a pregnant woman or unborn child. Some believe a fetus has rights from conception, while others argue that it only has rights after 20-24 weeks of pregnancy. Fetal rights laws can also allow for charges against a woman who harms her unborn child or for forced C-sections if necessary for the fetus’s health.
Fetal rights are a controversial topic. In essence, fetal rights are the rights of an unborn child who has reached approximately eight weeks of age in the womb. Some people argue that a fetus is a person who has a right to life and freedom from harm. Others, however, argue that since a fetus is not yet living without the mother’s life support, it should still have no rights. In some places, a fetus has legal rights, but they begin when the fetus is about 24 weeks old and has a reasonable chance of surviving outside the womb; some use 20 weeks as a threshold, which is roughly the time a female can first feel her baby kick in her womb.
Much of the argument surrounding fetal rights has to do with abortion. Many people feel that a fetus is a human life and has the right to be born. Some proponents of this idea also call abortion murder. There are some people who believe that a fetus has rights once it is past 20 or 24 weeks of pregnancy. Others, however, affirm that an unborn child is a human being from the moment of conception.
On the other side of the fetal rights issue are those who do not believe that the fetus is a human being or has any rights before birth. Often people with this view do not believe that governments have the right to prevent women from having an abortion. There are others who believe a fetus should legally be called a person after about 20-24 weeks of pregnancy, but they don’t think the fetus has rights until birth. There are still others who don’t argue about when the fetus becomes a life, but argue that the government has no right to control what a woman can do with her body in general.
The issue of fetal rights isn’t limited to discussions of abortions, although much of it centers around it. Fetal rights also become important when a person is accused of killing a pregnant woman. Some people think the accused should be charged with double murder in such a case. Others might argue that only one viable life was taken.
Interestingly, there are also some instances where a woman can be accused of harming her unborn child. In some jurisdictions, fetal rights laws allow a woman to be charged with a felony if she takes illegal drugs that could harm the health of the unborn child. Additionally, there are some people who support creating laws that allow for forced C-sections in case one is necessary for the health of a fetus.
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