ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 depicts the argumentative tools used by the European Court of Human Rights in cases concerning abortion. Deontological arguments – particularly incrementalism – are most often used in such cases, through which the European Court of Human Rights extensively expands the scope of guarantees for pregnant women under Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention and consistently supplements these guarantees by applying procedural argumentation. The second plane of argumentation is the reference to external authority through strongly applying the margin of appreciation, particularly when assessing the beginning of human life. The chapter proves that the use of the margin of appreciation instrument to allow States discretion in determining the moment at which life begins allows both a liberal and a very restrictive approach to the legality of abortion acceptable under the Convention.
