Everyone has the right to life

All rights contained in the Bill of Rights are important, but the one which is of most importance to every individual is that of the right to Life.

This right is important by virtue of its very nature, contained in section 11, it reads as follows: “Everyone has the right to life.”

Section 11 is the very section which gives rise to the act of murder being categorised as a crime in South Africa, as nobody has the right to take another’s life in an unlawful manner.

In the case of State versus Makwanyane the importance of the Right to Life was showcased and had placed South Africa on an “Ethical Pedestal” in the international community, when the judge in the matter ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional. This judgment is in line with the new democratic era in which South Africa finds itself today.

A question which may come to mind when one considers one’s right to life is who has a duty to protect and preserve one’s life.

The court in Carmichele v Minister of Safety and Security held that the state has a positive duty to protect a person whose life is at risk from the criminal conduct of another person. Thus the state has an obligation to exercise all possible avenues in the protection of a person’s life.

The right to life has application with regards to abortion, taking into account both the life of the foetus as well as the impact it has on the life of the expectant mother. In terms of the Constitution everyone has the right to bodily and psychological integrity, which encompasses a mother’s right to make a decision regarding her reproduction. The right to life is not applicable to a foetus, as in South African law the moment of life beings at the very time the foetus takes its first breath, but this does not mean that the foetus does not have any rights at all, it may claim damages from any harm caused to the foetus while in the womb, provided that the child is born alive.

Compiled by Jula Mabena, Candidate Attorney Malherbe Rigg and Ranwell Incorporated.