Judiciary Bill VIII
S. 1373
A BILL
To
protect the right to life of each born and preborn human person in existence at
fertilization.
Be
it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress assembled,
SECTION
1. SHORT TITLE.
This
Act may be cited as the `Right to Life Act of 2001'.
SEC.
2. FINDINGS.
The
Congress finds that--
(1)
we, as a Nation, have declared that the unalienable right to life endowed by Our
Creator is guaranteed by our Constitution for each human person;
(2)
the Supreme Court, in Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113 at 159), stated: `We need not
resolve the difficult question of when life begins . . . the judiciary at this
point in the development of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate
as to the answer . . .';
(3)
the Supreme Court, in Roe v. Wade (410 U.S. 113 at 156-157), stated: `If this
suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant's case, of course,
collapses, for the fetus' right to life is then guaranteed specifically by the
(Fourteenth) Amendment . . .';
(4)
the Supreme Court, in Roe v. Wade, stated that the privacy right is not
absolute, and stated (410 U.S. 113, at 159) that: `The pregnant woman cannot be
isolated in her privacy. She carries an embryo and, later a fetus. . . . The
woman's privacy is no longer sole and any right of privacy she possesses must be
measured accordingly.';
(5)
a human father and mother beget a human offspring when the father's sperm
fertilizes the mother's ovum, and the life of each preborn human person begins
at fertilization;
(6)
there is no justification for any Federal, State, or private action
intentionally to kill an innocent born or preborn human person, and that
Federal, State, and private action must assure equal care and protection for the
right to life of both a pregnant mother and her preborn child in existence at
fertilization;
(7)
Americans and our society suffer from the evils of killing even one innocent
born or preborn human person, and each day suffer the torture and slaughter of
more than 3,500 preborn persons;
(8)
the intentional killing of preborn human persons occurs in Federal enclaves, in
interstate commerce activities, and in the States, estimated at 1,300,000 per
year and 40,000,000 since 1973; and
(9)
the violence of intentionally killing a preborn human person has provoked more
violence, carnage, and conflict reaching into homes, schools, churches,
workplaces and lives of Americans.
SEC.
3. RIGHT TO LIFE.
Upon
the basis of these findings and in the exercise of duty, authority, and powers
of the Congress, including its power under article I, section 8, to make
necessary and proper laws, and including its power under section 5 of the 14th
article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the Congress
hereby declares that the right of life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested
in each human being at fertilization.
SEC.
4. DEFINITION OF STATE.
For
the purposes of this Act, the term `State' used in the 14th article of amendment
to the Constitution of the United States and other applicable provisions of the
Constitution includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
and each other territory or possession of the United States.