Text of the provision
Art. 41. For civil purposes, the foetus is considered born if it is alive at the time it is completely delivered from the mother's womb. However, if the foetus had an intra-uterine life of less than seven months, it is not deemed born if it dies within twenty-four hours after its complete delivery from the maternal womb.
(30a)
Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, approved June 18, 1949, effective August 30, 1950. Reproduced in full. The three sources consulted do not read identically here; the text above is the reading carried by two of the three, including the Official Gazette.
What this article means
Fixes the point at which a child acquires civil personality for civil purposes: the foetus is considered born if it is alive at the moment it is completely delivered. There is one qualification — if its intra-uterine life was less than seven months, it is not deemed born unless it survives at least twenty-four hours after complete delivery. The rule decides whether a child can receive a donation or take by succession.
Related provisions
- Article 492 — How Co-owners Decide on Administration.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.