The Right To Life

Offers the first-ever comprehensive treatment under international law of the foundational human right to life.

The right to life is the cornerstone of human rights protection. This book explores the mechanisms and procedures through which at international level the attempt is made to safeguard human life against all structural threats, even in armed conflict.

This groundbreaking book is the first collection to investigate the law, political science and ethical perspectives collectively in relation to the right and value of life. Its contributions from international roster of scholars are organized around five themes: a theoretical positioning of life and death; War, armed conflict and detention; Death as punishment; Medical parameters for ending life; and medical policies for the preservation of life. In studying this issue in its contemporary contexts of "right" and "value," the volume fills the current scholarly lacuna in the general subject of the orientations of life. It presents a much-needed examination of key issues in a broad practical and theoretical context, and holds broad appeal for scholars, researchers, and students occupied with issues of war, armed conflict, the death penalty, and various contemporary medico-legal scenarios.

This book considers how the termination of life might be accepted in the view of a general obligation to protect life. It features more than 10 papers written by scholars from 14 countries that offer international comparative empirical research. Inside, readers will find case studies from such areas as: India, Chile, Germany, Italy, England, Palestine, Lithuania, Nigeria, and Poland. The papers focus on three limitations of the right to life: the death penalty, abortion, and euthanasia. The contributors explore how young people understand and evaluate the right to life and its limitations. The book presents unique empirical research among today's youth and reveals that, among other concepts, religiosity matters. It provides insight into the acceptance, perception, and legitimation of human rights by people from different religious and cultural backgrounds. This investigation rigorously tests for inter-individual differences regarding political and judicial rights on religious grounds, while controlling for other characteristics. It will help readers better understand the many facets of this fundamental, yet controversial, philosophical question. The volume will be of interest to students, researchers, as well as general readers searching for answers.

This book offers a political, ideological, and social history of the national right-to-life movement in the 1980s under President Ronald Reagan. It analyzes anti-abortion engagement with the legislative, judicial, and executive branches, and offers what is frequently a narrative of disappointment and factionalism. The chapters explore pro-life responses to Supreme Court vacancies, attempts to pass a constitutional amendment, and broader legislative and bureaucratic strategies, including successful campaigns against international and domestic family planning programs. The book suggests that the 1980s transformed the anti-abortion cause, limiting the types of ideas and approaches possible at a national level. Although the movement later claimed Reagan as a "pro-life hero," while he was President right-to-lifers continuously struggled with the gap between his words and deeds. They also had a fraught relationship with the broader Republican Party. This book charts the political education of right-to-lifers, offering insights into social movement activism and conservatism in the late twentieth century.