Young Scholars
With the Advent of Artificial Reproductive Technologies is there a Fundamental Right to a Child?
With the advancement of artificial reproductive technologies (ARTs) and the legalization of same-sex marriage, questions have arisen about legal parenthood and fundamental rights. Katarina Lee analyzes how recent domestic and international court cases have in effect moved to institute a right to a child, supported by the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Maria da Penha v. Brazil in the Inter- American Commission on Human Rights: An Analysis of the Impacts of the Convention of Belém do Pará in the Federal Legislation
Between 2002 and 2004, feminist NGOs gathered to draft a law to combat domestic violence against women in Brazil. Known as the Maria da Penha law and passed in August…
A Right to Create a Child? How the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is Wrong on In Vitro Fertilization
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights decided that Costa Rica’s refusal to allow in vitro fertilization was a violation of couples’ right to found a family. This ruling raises the question of whether human rights treaties can rightly be interpreted as including the right to have a child – by any means necessary.
Could GMO Classification Facilitate the Global Trafficking of Human Embryos for Scientific Research?
Scientific research has created the tools and the fertility industry has created the market for procedures that are threaten to redefine the concept of human procreation – creating huge ethical dilemmas in the process. Edmund Burke Fellow Andrew Kubick explores the potential for the exploitation of loopholes in international regulations to facilitate the trafficking of human embryos as “genetically modified organisms.”
Human Rights in the Arab World: Some Arguments in Favor of a Regional Framework
Amid the recent uprisings in many Middle Eastern countries, and given the unique history of the region, experts are questioning how to ensure human rights are protected in the Arab world. Edmund Burke Fellow Marc Sabbagh argues in favor of a regional human rights framework centered around the Arab states.
Sex Selection in China and its Demographic Causes
Sex selective abortion is known to be a serious problem in some countries, including India and China. Anne Morse discusses how skewed gender ratios resulting from sex selection are further exacerbated by falling fertility rates, even as women’s status in society improves.
Abortion, Ijtihad, and the Rise of Progressive Islam
Nicholas Dunn examines the way in which the debate over abortion has evolved in Muslim scholarship, and how abortion advocates in Muslim countries are using the idea of conscience, or itjihad, to promote acceptance of abortion, both in practice and in law. He also examines how UN agencies and NGOs have been attempting to co-opt the teachings of Islam to promote pro-abortion international policies since the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994.
The Problems with Linking Specific Foreign Policy to Abortion in Developing Countries
The World Health Organization published a report claiming that a U.S. policy withholding funding for abortion in developing countries leads to more abortions in those countries. Muchova re-analyzes the data and offers a reasoned critique of the study’s methodology and conclusions.
