Court Rejects Use of European Human Rights Law to Establish Fetal Rights
In July 2004, in a case that could have undermined abortion rights across Europe, today the European Court of Human Rights refused to treat a fetus as a person under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The Court upheld a 1999 decision by France’s highest court in the case of Vo v. France. The Center for Reproductive Rights filed an amicus brief with the Court, arguing that granting a fetus the right to life would allow legal claims that favor the rights of a fetus over those of a pregnant woman.