The legal personhood of human brain organoids

Abstract

Research using three-dimensional neural tissues derived from human pluripotent stem cells - known as 'human brain organoids' - has progressed rapidly in recent years. Although related ethical issues have been intensively discussed, legal issues have only been sparsely examined compared with the related ethical issues. In this paper, we explore a fundamental issue concerning the legal status of human brain organoids: whether they can be considered legal persons. We clearly distinguish between two types of legal personhood: 'natural person' as a human legal person and 'juridical person' as a nonhuman legal person. By examining natural and juridical personhood separately, we point out the bias and confusion in the remarks on the legal personhood of human brain organoids and provide a more comprehensive picture of the problem.