Neteisėto aborto kriminalizavimas Lietuvoje ir kitose Europos valstybėse ; Criminal liability for illegal abortion

Abstract

The work deals with abortion as social phenomenon, which means the destruction of human foetus by termination of pregnancy due to social, personal or medical indication. The work also deals with criteria and limits of punishability of abortion in Lithuania and other countries of Europe. The protection of the right to life of unborn is the one of the most debat­able social questions without unanimous answer. But it is evident that the attitude of government to the foetus' life directly determines the position of law regarding abortion. The life of the foetus is not the object protected by penal law, and because of this the termination of pregnancy is legal until twelfth week of pregnancy. The procedure of legal abortion is regulated by the regulatory act, but not a law in Lithuania, moreover, it is observed that not all breaches of this procedure mean illegal abortion under Penal code of Lithuania. This work analyses the factors that determine the punishability of abortion, that are not only the term of pregnancy, contraindications, the subject which terminate the pregnancy, but also the proper place where abortion can be done. After analysis of legal regulation and judicial practice it seems that there is no unanimous and clear solution in order to decide what place is legitimate for termination of pregnancy. Whereas in Europe the limits of prohibition of abortion are not the same, this work researches the laws and judicial practice regarding abortion in other European countries, especially those whose regula­tion is very restrictive. Criminalisation of abortion cannot solve all problems of protection of unborn life, because this issue is of much wider social range, where it is necessary to create social standards that can help a woman before abortion, considering the foetus' life as human value and taking into account woman's social needs.