Note on Optical Information Storage in Solids

The Nasciturus Non-Fiction - The Libby Gonen Story - Contemporary Reflections on the Status of Nascitural Personhood in South African Law

“…Chapter 3 examines the extent to which nascitural safeguards and protections 17 have been sought in a historical context. The primary focus of this chapter is on the often cited nasciturus doctrine.…”

“…The concepts of organic and psychosomatic personhood are introduced and explored in this chapter. 17 Nascitural Safeguards & Protections -The use of this phrase is an attempt to steer clear of the more frequently used terms to describe the possible 'rights', 'interests', or 'entitlements', which the nasciturus may enjoy. Nascitural safeguards and protections imply an extrinsic bestowal of 'rights', 'interests', or 'entitlements'.…”

“…Hawke stated that when the monitor resumed recording, it was picking up the heart rate of Libby's mother, as the heart rate was lower than a few minutes previously, and an expectant mother's heart rate is always lower than that of her unborn child. While it is true that the heart rate of an expectant mother is always lower than that of her unborn child, 17 it was Gliksman's assertion that the heart rate was lower when the monitor resumed recording a few minutes later because of all the palliative and sedative medication that Hawke had administered to Libby's mother between 12:00 and 12:10.…”

“…17 Libby's father is of the firm belief that Libby died at 14:10. He remembers clearly that the midwives were listening to Libby's heartbeat manually with a 'stethoscope-like device' every twenty to thirty minutes.…”

“…Although most authors are of the opinion that viability is not a necessary requirement for legal subjectivity, primarily for the purpose of succession, 16 it is nevertheless contended that this train of thought leads to a rationally untenable situation. A perpetrator who intentionally destroys a nasciturus born after 22 weeks of gestation that shows any signs of life, 17 such as a pulse in its umbilical cord, 18 could be held liable for the crime of murder and the same perpetrator who destroys a 38 week nasciturus by shooting it in utero is at most guilty of aggravated assault upon the pregnant woman and the destruction of the nasciturus is seen as nothing more than an aggravating circumstance to be taken into account at the sentencing stage. 19 The BAR thus serves as a mechanism for the creation of impunity in circumstances where a nasciturus in utero is non-consensually destroyed.…”