Criminal liability for the new born baby grievous bodily harm due to the neglegence

Abstract

 

Considering human unborn baby and the impact on it in real life, there are two different situations. The first situation, when due to actions of mother she loses her unborn baby (for example, miscarriage occurs or abortion is performed) happens because there is an aim to destroy an organism in woman’s body, for an unborn baby to disappear. If a baby is born healthy and dies because of injuries experienced before birth, the person who caused them is completely liable for the intentional murder or careless deprivation of life, depending on the form of guilt. There is another option: dangerous mother’s actions can be identified, which have a direct influence on organism, but pregnancy ends with childbirth - a newborn is born alive. In that case, woman performs harmful actions to herself and to progeny, but pregnancy ends with the birth of an alive baby. Therefore, the question arises how to qualify these actions of the woman. In the article, the author tries to find an answer to these questions using philosophical, medical and legal arguments.