Motherhood and law: Reflections on human rights provisions and selected judgments of the European courts

Abstract

The article focuses upon the phenomenon of motherhood within international and European legal contexts. The initial remarks concern the analysis of motherhood as an activity deeply rooted in interpersonal relations, in accordance with the feminist theory of care. Relevant human rights provisions dealing with motherhood are identified, and the scope of mothers’ legal entitlements and public authorities’ duties is analyzed. Selected case-law of the European courts is presented, in order to identify the obligations of public authorities related to providing support to the relationship between mother and child. The selection of cases is based upon their impact on bioethics, healthcare, and medical services. Therefore, the overall goal is to examine the hypothesis of prospective correspondence or lack of correspondence between the provisions of human rights treaties on motherhood (law in books) and courts’ adjudication (law in action). In the final part of the article concluding remarks and observations are offered.