Shimla:

The International Day of the Unborn Child was established by Pope John Paul II, who saw this day as "a favorable choice in favor of life". He decided to celebrate this day on March 25, exactly nine months before Christmas, to honor and remember the most vulnerable and smallest part of human life, so the date of this day coincides with the feast of celebrating the incarnation of Jesus Christ in the womb of Mother Mary, which is December 25, exactly nine months before the birth of Jesus or Christmas.

International Unborn Child Day is celebrated every year across the world on 25 March. This day reminds us that every child is a precious gift and every moment of their life is a symbol of new hope. The purpose of celebrating this is to raise awareness to protect the rights of children and their lives.

Unborn child is protected through law

Shashwat said that a few days after conception, the heart of the foetus starts working and it gets life from the third or fourth week. "Now if we talk about the Indian Constitution, according to Article 21(1), a person born from the womb of the mother is considered a human being. However, this article indicates that the foetus will not be entitled to protection under Article 21 until the child comes out of the mother's womb. First of all, the mother has the access to rights and then the child,' he said.

Advocate Neeraj Shashwat said, 'The child who is still in the mother's womb does not have the same constitutional rights as the born child, but there have been attempts to protect the life of the unborn child through law. That is, if someone aborts or gets an abortion done, it is considered a crime. The unborn child is called a foetus."

Does an unborn child have legal rights?

When the thought of an unborn child comes to anyone's mind, the first thing everyone thinks about is whether the unborn child gets some rights equal to a human being. The first question that arises is whether the fetus is a legal person or not? What legal rights does it get before it is born? To know the answers to all these questions  spoke to Himachal High Court's senior advocate Neeraj Shashwat.

No death penalty for a pregnant woman

Advocate Shashwat said, 'The death sentence of a pregnant woman is either suspended or converted into life imprisonment to save the unborn child. Under Sections 312(6) to 316(7) of the Indian Penal Code, any person who prevents a child from being born alive or causes the death of the fetus will be held responsible for this and action will be taken against him." If the heart of the creature present in the womb starts beating, then there is life in the unborn child and its life should not be taken away through abortion, the advocate said. The word 'minor' in Section 6 of the Limitation Act 1963 also includes an unborn child i.e. fetus, he said, adding that apart from this, checking the sex of an unborn child i.e. fetus is also a legal offense.

Right to property

"Any person can transfer his property to an unborn child, even if it is in the mother's womb. He has full rights over the family's property. He gets the rights as if the property is transferred in the womb itself. Under Section 20 of the Hindu Succession Act, an unborn child has rights over the family's property. Under Section 13 of the Property Transfer Act, a person can transfer his property to an unborn child, but the responsibility of taking care of the property will have to be handed over to some person or trust, because the property can never be left without a title," the advocate said.

He said that as soon as the child is born, he will have the right over all the property. "If the woman has a miscarriage, then in this case, when the mother gives birth to a child for the second time, all the property will be transferred to her second child. If there is no child, the property will remain in the name of the woman," said Neeraj Shashwat.

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