Despite recent efforts by some scholars, there is one group of children who remain undertheorizedrnand under-studied, and that is the unborn child. Most importantly, there is very lim itedrndiscussion about whether protection for the life of the unborn child begins at birth, some timernbefore or at conception. The situation in Ethiopia is no exception in this regard . Therefore, thisrnstudy looks at the extent in which protection for the life of the unborn child is provided underrninternational human rig hts law. It also examines the protections available for the life of thernunborn child under Ethiopia 's law. In principle abortion is a crime under Ethiopjan law. [t is onlyrnbased on the exceptionally stipulated grounds of the law that legal abortion can be procured . Onernsuch exception of the law is pregnancy because of the criminal act of rape and incest To procurernlegal abortion on the basis of this particular ground, the mere statement by the women that she isrna victim of rape or incest is adequate. [n practice, many women in Addis Ababa resort to legalrnabortion by mentioning th is except ion of the law simply to do away with unwanted pregnanciesrnThus, this research aims at examining and crit icall y anal yzing the abuse of abortion laws byrnmany women's in Addis Ababa. Hence, the protections available for the life of the unborn childrnand its enfo rcements under the FDRE Constitution and ordinary legislations of the country wi llrnbe analyzed from the practice of legal abortion for rape and incest victims in Addis Ababa.rnAccordingly, the writer argues that both international human rights law and Ethiopian lawrnprovide some level of protection for the life of the unborn chi ld . There is also a duty on part ofrnthe government of Ethiopia to enforce such protections avai lab le for the life of the unborn child .rnBut, the abuse of the law by several womens in Addis Ababa is violating the protectionsrnguaranteed for the life of the unborn child in Ethiopia. Therefore, the concerned authorities inrnEthiopia have to take measures that will ensure compliance of the practice of abortion with thernlaw and provide better protection for the li fe of the unborn chi ld in Ethiopia.rnKey Words: Ri ght to life; unborn child ; legal abortion; rape and incest victims; some level ofrnprotection