Georgia Right to Life’s (GRTL) byline states, “Advancing Personhood – The Paramount Right to Life.” GRTL stands on the truths of scripture that clearly state that all human life within the womb or without is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and therefore must be respected.
By affirming the Personhood of babies in the womb, those who are pro-life believe that a person is fully human at fertilization, and that preborn babies have the same rights as those of a toddler or a fully-grown adult. This recognition creates a powerful argument against abortion, or any other kind of abuse inflicted on a preborn child.
After the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in the summer of 2022, the pro-life movement received renewed attention from the media. Several pro-abortion media outlets latched on to the argument of Personhood and have tried to sell it as a “sneaky new tactic” of the pro-life movement. These outlets recognize the legitimacy and justice of this argument and see it as a threat to their open, unrestricted access to abortion.
A lobbyist and policy analyst for Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes, Taylor Morton, said that pro-life bills that seek to establish Personhood are “disingenuous tactic[s].” She goes on to express her distress that these bills would “[elevate] the rights of a fetus to be equivalent, or even superior, to those of a pregnant person.” It is shocking to hear how clearly pro-abortion advocates understand the meaning of Personhood and how actively they seek to misrepresent and suppress the truth.
States like Kansas display this battle for truth so well. Two bills, Senate bill 425 and House bill 2653, for the 2023 and 2024 legislative session, hoped to establish the preborn baby as eligible for child support. This kind of legislation both protects the mother and the child and would hold the father financially responsible for his child.
Yet, some in our society will not recognize legislation that provides equal rights and justice for all. They think the mother’s rights trump the child’s rights.
Pro-abortion and pro-“gender affirming care” Kansas Senator Ethan Corson stated, “If you say that an unborn fetus has the same legal rights as a pregnant person, then that calls into question existing laws around reproductive healthcare and access to abortion.”
The fact that justice for an innocent human child would be denied by another human being is disgraceful and an example of elitism at its worst.
Taylor Morton admits that bills supporting Personhood for children in the womb have the appearance of supporting pregnant women (she uses the word “person”), children, and families. Despite this evidence, Morton insists that this kind of legislation would “harm the marginalized.” She fears that this kind of bill would threaten women’s access to abortion and therefore be ultimately “oppressing.”
However, Morton’s “fears” may be unfounded. Like the actual consequences of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Personhood affirming legislation may not bring concrete progress for the pro-life movement.
In an opinion piece for The Washington Post, Ramesh Ponnuru, author of The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the Disregard for Human Life, and a contributing columnist, argued that The Life at Conception Act highlights an often-hidden issue with American conservative politics of today. He points out that the language of the bill gives a false impression.
Ponnuru argues that the legislators who wrote the bill are stating a principle but that there is no real intent to act behind those words. The bill affirms that every human has the right to life and states that these rights extend to “each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life.”
Although a profound and morally upright affirmation, the bill does not clearly outline how this principle would be enforced. Ponnuru views this kind of legislation as a kind of “blank check”, an open-ended claim whose legislative authority will be determined by the executive and judicial branches.
The bill uses very clear language. Human rights should be extended to everyone, from conception to death. This kind of statement affirms the Personhood of every human being. Since the human preborn child is the most marginalized member of society today, this kind of language would apply legal action for them.
Even so, many Republicans who profess to be pro-life desire to distance themselves from the kind of legal action for which the bill would call. Since IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) as well as other assisted reproductive technology, and abortions in every situation, including rape and incest, result in the death of preborn babies, recognizing the Personhood of babies in the womb would call into question the legality of these practices. Advocating for prosecution for these kinds of crimes comes with a level of social discomfort in a society that demands our “rights” at the expense of all others, especially preborn babies and the vulnerable.
Ponnuru does not take time in the article to share how he believes justice for the preborn child should be administered in the United States. It is probably not a moral announcement he wishes to fully outline in such a restrictive newspaper as the Washington Post. Though, he makes a quietly bold statement, and he politely asks for conservative law makers to have the bravery to stand by their beliefs, despite their political discomfort.
Are we, as voters, willing to allow ourselves to be misled by flashy statements and empty promises? American political leaders who profess to be pro-life need to make some difficult, and possibly uncomfortable and unpopular decisions if human life is ever to be fully protected in this nation. It is our responsibility to filter political expediency from the truth.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:13-16
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/12/pro-life-case-fetal-personhood-laws/