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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Human Dignity and Legally Protected Goods in Criminal Law

subject

description

Criminal law protects certain basic goods because they are directly or indirectly connected with the dignity of the person. However, in cases such as euthanasia, prostitution or surrogacy motherhood, the appeal to the dignity of the person is used, in the opposite sense, as the basis for decriminalization. In these cases, dignity is identified with the autonomy of the person and their capacity to dispose of all their goods, even if they are essential. This work argues that there is an ontological core of dignity (requirement of absolute respect) that is subtracted from autonomy and that is protected by the concept of ‘moral integrity’. It prevents certain conducts from being decriminalized regardless of changes in social morality or whether it includes the consent of those who perform them. So, prostitution or surrogate motherhood, since always constitute an attack on the moral integrity of the person, regardless of their consent, in no case must be decriminalized.