Right To Life Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

The right to life is a concept from international human rights law, suggesting that all people are entitled to live and that, under most circumstances, human beings should not end a life. It is included in a number of international human rights treaties and documents, most notably in Article 3 of the 1948

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which is the foundation for international human rights law. The right to life is given primacy in the document and, therefore, resulting law; in fact, it is the first enumerated right (part of “life, liberty, and security of person”), with the two articles that precede it only necessary for establishing the basis of common rights for all. The right to life subsequently has been included in Article 2 of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights, Article 6 of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 4 of the 1969 American Convention on Human Rights, Article 4 of the 1981 African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, and a number of other international agreements and conventions.

Although the concept entered human rights law after World War II (1939–1945), the idea of a fundamental right to life can be traced back to earlier documents, such as the American Declaration of Independence, which claimed the right of all men to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Even the Magna Carta demanded that “No Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned . . . or any other wise destroyed . . . but by lawful judgment of his Peers, or by the Law of the Land,” prohibiting at least the arbitrary taking of a life. Still, the earlier document suggested that the laws in place grant the right to life, while the Declaration matches the understanding of the UDHR and subsequent documents in that the right to life is somehow more fundamental, originating in the inherent worthiness of a human being or backed by the teachings of a deity.

As with many other human rights, the crux of many debates about the right to life is the extent to which it applies. Is the right to life a negative liberty, not to be killed arbitrarily, especially by the state, or does it require positive action to protect life? Those who view the right as a protection from arbitrary treatment often invoke it at the international level to decry or defend against abuses of human rights by autocratic governments, including the use of torture, disappearance, and war. Those who see a positive mandate may refer to the right to life in demanding international humanitarian efforts to alleviate suffering from natural disasters and human malfeasance, from earthquakes to famine to flooding.

In Western democracies, particularly the United States, the concept of the right to life has been adopted by those concerned about social issues, especially in reference to abortion. Opponents of abortion often claim that an unborn fetus is a human life that requires state-sanctioned protection; indeed, one of the major American opponents of abortion is the National Right to Life Committee, an advocacy group with more than three thousand chapters. The right to life also has been invoked to oppose euthanasia, most famously in the case of Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged Florida woman whose husband wished to cut off artificial life support systems in 2005. Conservatives unsuccessfully demanded that her right to life be protected by continuing to employ artificial means.

However, right to life discourse is not confined to the American right-wing. Catholics the world over use the term to oppose not only abortion, but also capital punishment; their claims have theological basis in a number of papal documents from Vatican II to more recent encyclical letters. (While again suggesting that the right to life is more fundamental than any earthly law, the church makes it clear that even the state is never sanctioned to take life.) By contrast, others invoke the right to life to defend women from unsafe medical procedures or oppressive cultural practices.

In general, the right to life is considered an important signpost of the overall shift of international law toward personal security and protection of the individual, rather than national security and protection of the state. It remains an important rallying point and justification for advocates of a number of international and national rights causes stemming from a host of political perspectives.

Bibliography:

Bennett,William J., and Brian T. Kennedy. “The Right to Life: Protecting One Woman.” National Review Online (March 24, 2005), nationalreview.com/comment/bennet_kennedy200503240814.asp.
Cook, Rebecca J. “Women’s International Human Rights Law: The Way Forward.” Human Rights Quarterly 15 (May 1993): 230–261.
Feinberg, Joel. “Voluntary Euthanasia and the Inalienable Right to Life.” Philosophy and Public Affairs 7 (Winter 1978): 93–123.
John Paul II. Centesimus Annus. Encyclical letter on the occasion of the centennial anniversary of Rerum Novarum. May 1, 1991.
Ramcharan, Bertrand G. The Right to Life in International Law. Boston: Martinus Nijhoff, 1983.
Teklehaimanot, Kibrom I. “Using the Right to Life to Confront Unsafe Abortion in Africa.” Reproductive Health Matters 10 (May 2002): 143–150.

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