Human Dignity and the Pregnant Woman's Right to Support

Abstract

This article describes aspects of Brazilian law relating to alimony, with special attention to a recently adopted statute which allows for a pregnant woman, in certain cases, to compel alimony payments from someone she demonstrates to be the biological father of the child, even though fatherhood cannot be decisively proven until after the child is born. It identifies the roots of this right to alimony in the principle of human dignity, noting the development of this principle in the writings of Immanuel Kant and the endorsement of this principle in the Brazilian Constitution.

Keywords: alimony, pregnancy, Brazil