Abstract
This article examines the legal interpretation of ethicaland cultural dimensions related to the definition of thebeginning of the right to life in international and regionalhuman rights law. Specifically, the European Court ofHuman Rights (ECHR) seeks to analyze how this conceptis interpreted and applied by national legal systems andsupranational bodies within sociocultural frameworks.The study qualitatively reviews key legal documentstogether with domestic legislation plus jurisprudence fromthe ECHR. The findings do reveal that the internationallegal instruments, which do include the EuropeanConvention on Human Rights, don’t establish a uniformstandard for the beginning of life, and the national courtsdefine this threshold with discretion. Jurisprudenceupholds the state margin of appreciation confirmingECHR’s reluctance about imposing a generalizable rule.Different national approaches are shaped through ethicaland through religious traditions. Philosophical traditionsdo also contribute to this shaping. It is concluded thatin fact no universal definition prevails here. Legal birthrecognition presents a structure that constantly weighsstate concerns against individual reproductive rightsunder human rights law