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In France, the killing of a fœtus is not an homicide.

The Court of Cassation, the highest French court for civil and penal law,  decided that in 2001, in its most solennel formation.

The fœtus had been killed in a car accident and the mother wanted that the man responsable of the accident be condemned for homicide.

To sum up the case, the question asked was : ” Can a no born child be the subject of an homicide? ”

The judge has accepted the idea that the death of the fœtus opens a right to a compensation for the mother, and for the father.

French law allows a fœtus to inherit, and he is protected, but from a penal point of view, he is not a person.

The attorney general had another view.

https://www.courdecassation.fr/publications_26/bulletin_information_cour_cassation_27/bulletins_information_2001_1367/n_540_1444/