WASHINGTON — A Republican representative from Georgia has introduced a resolution that would recognize the unborn as being persons from the moment of conception.
Rep. Jody Hice, former pastor of Bethlehem First Baptist Church and The Summit Church, presented H.R. 586 days before the 44th year of Roe v. Wade, also known as the “Sanctity of Human Life Act.”
“[T]he Congress declares that—(A) the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being, and is the paramount and most fundamental right of a person; and (B) the life of each human being begins with fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent, irrespective of sex, health, function or disability, defect, stage of biological development, or condition of dependency, at which time every human being shall have all the legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood,” it reads in part.
The resolution also affirms that Congress and each state has the authority “to protect the lives of all human beings residing in its respective jurisdictions.”
The Act has a number of co-sponsors, including Reps. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) and Blake Farenthold (R-Texas).
Hice said in a statement on Tuesday that the resolution recognizes the inalienable right to life already outlined in the founding documents of the nation.
“In the Declaration of Independence, our Founding Fathers affirmed that everyone is endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, chief among them being life,” he noted. “Today, with the right to life under attack, now more than ever before, we must stand up as advocates for the unborn. Our culture must affirm the value of the weak and vulnerable in our society, beginning with our children.”
“With that in mind, I introduced the Sanctity of Human Life Act, which rightly defines life as beginning at conception,” Hice stated. “I am proud of this legislation and proud to be a voice for the unborn with clarity and conviction.”
As previously reported, just last week, the U.S. House of Representatives advanced the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act, which would place a permanent ban on taxpayer funding of abortions, as outlined in the Hyde Amendment.
The Act had been introduced by Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, a longtime supporter of the Amendment, which was first passed in 1976 to ban the use of Medicaid funds for abortion, with the exceptions of rape, incest and the life of the mother.
‘‘No funds authorized or appropriated by federal law, and none of the funds in any trust fund to which funds are authorized or appropriated by federal law, shall be expended for any abortion,” the No Taxpayer Funding Act reads in part.
‘‘None of the funds authorized or appropriated by federal law, and none of the funds in any trust fund to which funds are authorized or appropriated by federal law, shall be expended for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion,” it outlines.
Hice voted in favor of the Act, remarking, “No American should ever be forced to pay for abortions. Period. The Hyde Amendment has been a staple of protecting the unborn for 40 years, saving more than two million lives, including 99,350 lives in the State of Georgia. Needless to say, it is vital that we keep it in place.”
Psalm 139:13-16 reads, “For Thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvellous are Thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from Thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect, and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them.”
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