The article analyzes the features of the criminal law protection of human life and the human embryo. The authors made an attempt to comprehend the content of terms such as «the moment of the beginning of life», «the moment of the end of life», etc. Based on a systematic analysis of domestic and foreign criminal legislation, materials of judicial practice, scientifc legal and medical literature on determining the moment of the beginning of a person’s life, the authors tried to formulate specifc proposals for improving the criminal legislation in this area. The authors conclude that the current level of medical development, as well as the actual recognition of the moment of brain death as the moment of human death, predetermine the fundamental possibility and admissibility of determining the beginning of human life as the moment of complete formation of the fetal brain in the womb.
crime, criminal law, criminal law protection, life, murder, beginning of life, embryo, abortion
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