Legal and deontological reflections in the ‘Instruction on respect for nascent human life and the dignity of procreation’.

On 22 February 1987, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a document, signed by Cardinal J. Ratzinger, entitled: ‘Instruction on Respect for Human Life in Birth and the Dignity of Pro-creation’, in which the ethical values and fundamental rights of the human person are emphasised with particular reference to the various aspects of nascent life. In these notes we shall briefly dwell on those that are of special interest to law and medical ethics