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Life at Conception Act
HR431 was introduced into the House of Representatives in the US Congress in January 2023 and has languished in the Judiciary committee ever since. Given the highly controversial nature of the bill it is unlikely to make progress, despite having 125 Republican sponsors. Looking back to 2011, this bill (or variations of it) has been introduced 13 times and has never made it out of committee. The bill is attracting renewed attention however following the Alabama Supreme Court ruling in February that frozen embryos used in vitro fertilization (IVF) are children and those who destroy them can be held liable for wrongful death. Alabama lawmakers rapidly enacted a bill to protect clinics and doctors from prosecution.
The "Life at Conception Act" is aimed at ensuring equal protection under the law for the right to life of every human being, explicitly extending this right from the moment of fertilization or any equivalent point at which an individual human life begins. This bill invokes the authority of Congress under the U.S. Constitution to declare that the constitutionally guaranteed right to life applies to all human beings, irrespective of their developmental stage. It reaffirms that this includes preborn humans, effectively equating the beginning of legal personhood with the biological beginning of life.
It explicitly states that the Act should not be interpreted as allowing for the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child, indicating that the legal focus would be on providers of abortion services rather than the women undergoing such procedures.
One of the most direct and significant effects of the law would likely be on the legality and availability of abortion. By recognizing the rights of the unborn from the moment of conception, the Act could lead to a federal ban on abortion or severely restrict access to abortion services across the United States. Healthcare providers specializing in reproductive health could face new legal risks and ethical dilemmas, and it may change how pregnancy and fertility treatments are approached, including in IVF and other reproductive technologies. It could also potentially raise issues around the use of certain types of contraception which seek to prevent the implantation of the fertilized ovum in the uterus.
Read the IssueVoter analysis of the bill here.
All Americans Have a Right to Life
The lead sponsor of the bill, Rep. Alexander Mooney, asserts, "Respecting human life from the moment of conception until natural death is not simply a religious belief, it is a scientific fact that life begins at conception." He goes on to explain, "The Life at Conception Act would require protection for the preborn under the 14th Amendment, which grants all citizens equal protection under the law and prevents them from being deprived of life, liberty or property. . . . This legislation would . . . set a standard for promoting and encouraging a culture of life."
The bill does not include any protection for IVF or contraception, unlike a Senate version of the bill last introduced in 2021 by Sen. Rand Paul which adds the phrase"Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child, [a prohibition on in vitro fertilization, or a prohibition on use of birth control or another means of preventing fertilization.]"
Many of the co sponsors of the 2023 bill were quick to express their support for IVF following the Alabama ruling, such as Rep. Michelle Steel of California, which attracted something of a backlash. Steel has since rescinded her sponsorship of the bill.
Women's bodies, women's choice
The Democrats were quick to challenge the GOP and link the bill to the Alabama ruling. “House Republicans continue to further their agenda to control women’s bodies and women’s choices at every turn, including legislation that would double down on the Alabama court’s ruling by banning both IVF and abortion nationwide,” Rep. Suzan DelBene, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said. She added, “The DCCC remains fully committed to supporting candidates who will stand up for our freedoms and our families and holding Republicans accountable for doing the opposite with their extreme anti-abortion stances.”
The White House was quick to back the right to choose. President Biden and Vice President Harris will continue to fight to protect access to reproductive healthcare and call on Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law for all women in every state", said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
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