Objective: To explicate the ontological statuses of both the fetus and neonate as a basis for clinical ethical judgments about the obligations of both physicians and pregnant women to protect the life and health of both the fetus and the neonate. Methods: Despite drastic changes in perinatology, there is still a legal separation between fetuses and neonates. Neonatal status remains specific because of the prohibition of ‘transgressing human life’. Nevertheless, the concept of a ‘prenatal human being’ recently emerged. While new technologies blur the fetus/neonate borderline, why is it still legal in many European countries to terminate a fetal life in the late stages of pregnancy? One might even support the idea that what is authorized before birth should also be after, thereby ‘fetalizing’ neonates. Results: The ‘personalistic’ approach is against this ‘fetalization’, considering that terminating a neonate life is ‘transgressive’. The ‘utilitarian’ model considers we cannot decide what is good for someone else, which justifies terminating the life of neonates who are not persons yet. A phenomenological view supports the ontological difference on our perceptions, differing whether we observe ultrasound fetal images or real neonatal pictures. Conclusion: This does not mean the weight of fetal images should be underestimated.

Keywords:
Fetus, Neonate, Termination of life, Autonomy, Doing good, Doing no harm, Fairness, Transgression, Utilitarianism, Phenomenology
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© 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel
2011
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