‘Unborn’ refers to child within the womb, rules court

THE word “unborn” refers to a child within the womb, not pre-implantation embryos, and state protection of embryos arises only after implantation, the Supreme Court has found.

The judges did stress, though, that in this case they were not addressing issues as to when human life begins.

Ms Justice Susan Denham said Article 40.3.3 referred to a situation where two lives are connected and a balance may have to be sought between them. No such physical connection existed between Ms Roche and the frozen embryos and the capacity to be born arises after implantation, she said.