It also has important implications for euthanasia, self-defence, the use of force by law enforcement, and the provision of life-saving healthcare.
However, a majority of the judges of the court held that the death penalty also violated the right to life.
[1] In the 2001 case of Mohamed v President of the Republic of South Africa the Constitutional Court dealt with the extradition of suspects under circumstances where they may face the death penalty.
The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1996, which permits elective abortions in the first trimester and for broadly-specified reasons in the second trimester, was challenged in Christian Lawyers' Association v Minister of Health, on the basis that it violated the foetus' right to life.
The Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court dismissed the case, ruling that the word "everyone" in section 11 does not extend to unborn foetuses, which do not have legal personality under the Bill of Rights.