CAN AN UNBORN CHILD BE THE VICTIM OF INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER? THE PROBLEM OF INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER OF THE FETUS

Abstract

Can an unborn child be the victim of manslaughter? The issue of involuntary manslaughter of the fetus has been the subject of much discussions since the judgments of 30 June 1999 and 29 June 2001, which rejected this possibility. The dramatic car accident caused on February 10, 2023 by comedian Pierre Palmade has again projected this issue in the news, an opportunity to recall that the refusal of the High Court is widely exposed to criticism. Inappropriate shifts between very different concepts – legal personality and human person, choices that are difficult to reconcile with the spirit of criminal law, the rejection of involuntary homicide of the fetus raises a certain perplexity. But can we expect a case-law evolution?