Pregnancy Law in South Africa

South African law remains relatively silent on the legal aspects of pregnancy,

and legal commentary is rather scarce too. While there have been attempts

to address the gaps in the law in relation to specifi c issues in pregnancy, these

attempts have usually favoured the individual protection of the unborn at

the expense of pregnant women’s agency and rights, which has given rise

to a tension between female reproductive autonomy and foetal interests.

In Pregnancy Law in South Africa, the author explores the question of whether

it is possible to regard pregnancy in law as embodying both women and

the unborn and whether the pregnancy can be construed in a way that it

does not come to be framed as an adversarial relationship.

Pregnancy Law in South Africa focuses on the issues of prenatal

substance abuse, termination of pregnancy, violence that terminates

a pregnancy, and the extension of legal personhood to the unborn.

The author argues that pregnancy-related issues will never be

adequately resolved unless the potential for an adversarial

pregnancy relationship is removed. She proposes a relational

approach to pregnancy, centred on fostering relationships, in

order to eliminate the potential for tension. The author contends

further that a relational approach encourages imaginative

and constructive possibilities for law reform efforts without

sacrifi cing women’s reproductive autonomy and rights or the

recognition of the unborn.

Pregnancy Law in South Africa provides a sound theoretical

approach to pregnancy in law and its recommendations seek

to promote healthy, rights-affi rming pregnancies.