Paper's abstract

Jacques-Henri Robert, Biomedical Techniques confronted to Criminal Law
With the recent regulations on bio-medical research, the French law seeks for the first time since the Revolution to limit the freedom of scientific thought. To understand the justifications of these restrictions, the author examined the rules who carry criminal sanctions and which, for this reason, he presumes being the most important: either they aim at protecting the person of human beings born and physically viable, or they seek the welfare of children whose birth was made possible only by advanced medical techniques. However, neither the embryo nor the corpse, not even the genetic heritage of a human being are directly protected by French criminal Law, even when they are the subject of specific statutory provisions.

Key Words : bioethics, science, embryo, crime, medicine, genetics
t. 36, 1991 : p. 71-84