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Abortion and Constitutional Law a Comparative European-American Study

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Abortion and Constitutional Law a Comparative European-American Study Machteld Nijsten Abortion and Constitutional Law A Comparative European-American Study 1990 European University Institute Florence European University Library Hill I 0001 0611 1911 1 Abortion and Constitutional Law A Comparative European-American Study LAW Fnhdk9 by NIJ Machteld Nijsten / T his Boofizuas agiftfrom 7b t/te ‘EZII CiSrary 1990 European University Institute Florence All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission of the author. © Machteld Nijsten Printed in Italy in July 1990 European University Institute Badia Fiesolana 1-50016 San Domenico (FI) Italy Table of contents Preface Introduction................................................................................................ 1 C h ap ter I The emergence or the abortion issue .................................... 9 Introduction................................................................................................ 9 Section A The teachings of the Roman Catholic C hurch................... 9 Section B The legal history .................................................................... 16 1. The period up to 1900 .................................................................... 16 2. The period 1900-1970 .................................................................... 22 Section C The social changes leading up to the abortion debate. 29 Section D Abortion as a political i s s u e ............................................... 34 Section E The legalization of abortion.................................................. 39 C onclusions........................................... .................................................... 44 Chapter II The fundamental values involved in the abortion decision ............................................................................... 47 Introduction................................................................................................. 47 Section A The right to life of the fetus ............................................... 48 1. The issues ...................................................................................... 48 2. Terminology ................................................................................... 49 3. The sanctity of life ........................................................................ 51 4. The quality of l i f e ........................................................................... 56 5. The moral status and the legal rights of the unborn ............... 58 m Section B The pregnant woman’s rig h ts ............................................... 70 Introduction .......................................................................................... 70 1. The woman’s right to self-determination ................................. 71 2. The woman’s right to freedom of r e lig io n ................................. 75 3. The woman’s right to limit childbearing..................................... 76 4. Discussing the pregnant woman’s claims ................................. 80 Section C Moral and legal claims contingent upon the right to a b o r tio n ........................................................................... 82 1. The father’s r ig h ts ........................................................................... 83 2. The parents’ rig h ts........................................................................... 84 3. The doctor's right to freedom of profession................................. 84 4. The woman’s right to subsidized a b o r tio n ................................. 85 Section D The role of the l a w ................................................................ 87 C o n clu sio n s................................................................................................ 88 Chapter III The constitutional protection of the fundamental values involved in the abortion decision ............................. 89 Introduction................................................................................................. 89 Section A The content of the abortion law reform s ............................. 90 1. The United S t a t e s ............................................................................ 91 2. Austria ............................................................................................. 93 3. France ............................................................................................. 95 4. Germany .......................................................................................... 97 5. Italy ................................................................................................. 99 Section B The fundamental values recognized by the constitutional order ............................................................................ 103 1. The legal status of the u n b o rn ....................................................... 103 2. The pregnant woman’s r i g h t s ....................................................... 124 3. The father’s rights .............. J ..................................................... 136 4. The parents’ rights ........................................................................ 137 5. The doctor’s rights ........................................................................ 144 6. The pregnant woman’s right to subsidized abortion................... 152 7. The role of the la w ............................................................................ 161 8. The role of the European Convention on Human Rights . 166 C onclusions................................................................................................. 173 IV Chapter IV Explanations for the differences in constitutional interpretation ......................................................... 183 Introduction................................................................................................ 183 Scction A The constitutional texts......................................................... 184 Section B The legal h is to ry .................................................................... 186 Section C The judiciary versus the legislature: the concept of democracy ....................................................................... 191 1. Selection, background and training of the judges .................. 191 2. The role of the constitutional court in s o c ie ty ......................... 199 Section D Jurisdictional and political context of the abortion decisions .............................................................................. 223 1. Ju risd ictio n al c o m p e te n c e s............................................... 224 2. The political climate .................................................................... 228 3. The type of legislation under review ........................................... 228 Section E The social p hilosophies......................................................... 230 C onclusions................................................................................................ 231 C o n clu sio n s ......................................................................................... 237 v Acknowledgements This study was submitted as a doctoral thesis to the Department of Law of the European University Institute in July 1985.1 am indebted, first of all, to my supervisor, Prof. Mauro Cappelletti, who has followed the various stages of this study with great interest and enthusiasm. I am equally indebted to Prof. Joseph Weiler who has been very helpful with his constructive comments, especially on the methodological aspects of this study. I would like to thank as well Prof. Donald Kommers and Prof. Sergio Ortino, who have read and commented on parts of my work. There is no doubt that the collaboration of the library of the E.U.I. in ordering books and articles has been essential for the preparation of this study. A special word of thanks goes to the Computer Service of the E.U.I. The word-processing facilities and the assistance offered by this service have saved me an immense amount of time in the writing and editing of this study. The Publications Committee of the EUI enabled me to publish this study in its present form. Finally I would like to mention the Directorate of Human Rights of the Council of Europe which has provided me with the financial means, through one of their fellowships, to complete this study. Florence, April 1988 Introduction Between January 1973 and February 1975 five major constitutional courts in the Western world ruled on the abortion issue. The constitutional decisions issued by the United States Supreme Court, the Austrian Constitutional Court, the French Constitutional Council, the German Federal Consti­ tutional Court, and the Italian Constitutional Court are the point of depar­ ture of this study. In all five cases the question under review was if, and on what conditions, a pregnant woman is allowed under the Constitution to have an abortion. The answers given tojhis. question by the respective con­ stitutional courts differ on many basic points. Whereas the US Supreme Court declared the woman’s fundamental right to have an abortion during the fust three months of pregnancy and struck down almost all state abortion laws which prohibited abortion in some way, the German Constitutional Court, on the contrary, stated that the unbom’s right to life is protected un- d$r the Constitution as from the Nth day after conception and declared the recently passed abortion reform unconstitutional. The Austrian, French and Italian Courts
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