Abstract EN:

As we reach the close of the xxth century, society finds itself confronted with problems arising from the new applications of biomedical sciences, issues which the public bodies have tried to come to terms with by systematically referring to the principle of the respect of the human body. The point this thesis wishes to make is that an ethic exclusively built on the principle of the respect of human body is ill equipped to deal with the complexity of the problem at hand. The respect of the human person, as a principle, is not fit to answer all the questions raised by the right to dispose of one's own body. This single idea constitutes the thread of a critical evaluation of the fundamental principles of biomedical law. The first part of the thesis is devoted to the untouchability of the human body. It will show that legislation has indeed put forward a set to precise rules in order to protect the right to the respect of human personn (part one : the fundamental principle of bodily freedom : the untouchability of the human body and of the human species). The second part takes a more critical stands and consists of a thorough examination of those principles called upon to outline and structure the field of the right to dispose of his own body (part two : controversy over the notions of the appropriation of the human body and that of human dignity)