Abstract

RIVERA-LOPEZ, Eduardo. The role of empirical sciences in the law: the status of the human embryo. Rev. Bioética y Derecho [online]. 2018, n.44, pp.5-17. ISSN 1886-5887.

In this paper, I consider two opposite judicial decisions concerning the legal status of the human embryo: "Portal de Belén" by the Argentine Supreme Court, and "Artavia Murillo" by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. My purpose is to show that, although both decisions defend opposite positions, they commit the same kind of mistake. Both seek to ground a position about the legal status of the human embryo on biological considerations on embryo development. Highlighting this kind of argumentative failure can be useful for the analysis of judicial decisions with bioethical import.

Keywords : human embryo; law and science; onset of human personhood.

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