生育自由的保障与规制——美国与德国宪法对中国的启示

Protection and Regulation of Reproductive Freedom:Enlightening Significance of U.S.Constitution and German Basic Law for China

作为当代西方宪法人权理论与实践机制的两大典型,美国联邦宪法与德国基本法在生育自由的保障与规制方面呈现出诸多共性与分殊:前者将生育自由纳入隐私权的保障范围,后者则以自我自决权涵盖生育自由的保障,但均以个人的"自治"与"自决"为基本内涵;在生育自由规制方面,尽管两国宪法对胎儿生命权的保护起点存在分歧,但均主张生命权优越于堕胎自由。这为我们反思当下中国生育制度提供了一个有意义的参照系。在国际通行的生育权观念早已为我国以缔结国际公约方式所肯认,人权保障、依法治国业已成为我国社会价值共识的背景下,重塑生育制度的基本价值立场,建构一个以生育自由保障为根本逻辑的生育制度规范体系,具有重要的实现意义。

As two typical mechanisms of contemporary western theory and practice of human rights, U. S. Constitution and German Basic Law have both commonalities and divergences in the protection and regulation of reproductive freedom. Specifically, reproductive freedom is subsumed into the protection of privacy in the U. S. Constitution; while it belongs to the right of self-determination in German Basic Law. Individual ＂autonomy＂ and ＂self-determination＂ serve as the foundation for both of them. Though they remain different regarding the starting point of the protection of right of life, they both propose that right of life is prior to right of abortion. Therefore,the above-mentioned contents provide a meaningful frame of reference for reflecting the present birth system in China. Furthermore, the internationally accepted concept of reproductive right has long been affirmed by our government by entering international covenants. In the meantime protection of human rights and rule of law have already became the consensus value of the whole society in China. Under such background,it has a great realistic significance for remodeling the basic value standpoint of birth system and constructing a normative system aimed at protecting the reproductive freedom in China.