The Friday decision refers to the 1995 case of a drunken driver who crashed into the car of a six-month pregnant woman. After a premature delivery, the baby was stillborn, as a result of the injuries suffered in the accident.
In 1997, a Correctional Court sentenced the driver for involuntary homicide, but a year later the judges annulled the sentence, stating that «the stillborn child is not a person protected by penal law.»
The case was taken to the Supreme Court, which subsequently ruled that a fetus cannot be the victim of a homicide because it is «not a person» and, therefore, does not enjoy the «protection accorded by penal law to physical persons.»
According to the court, one can only speak of a «person» if «a being has come into the world.»
