If Not Human, What?

In the age of ultrasound technology and a time in which a 21-week unborn child can be saved in an incubator, the Supreme Court of South Korea issued a verdict declaring that an unborn child will not be considered human until the mother goes into labor. The ruling was based on a 2001 case involving a pregnant woman who consulted a midwife at a facility in Seoul as the expected birth date approached and she had no labor pains. The midwife advised the mother to wait two weeks, but during that time the baby died of cerebral damage. The Supreme Court cleared the midwife of "negligent homicide" charges ruling that the mother did not have labor pains so the unborn baby cannot be recognized as a human being. Therefore, no human, no homicide. Father Lee Dong-ik, professor of medicine at the Catholic University of Korea, called the ruling an "extremely shocking and deplorable verdict." He said, "Every country has slightly different legal grounds on when to consider an unborn a human being, but no country has such a definitive ruling that an unborn baby is not a human being. When a 21-week unborn child can survive with an incubator, it is unacceptable to see a verdict where a 42-week unborn is not considered a human being."