HR 4157 with the misleading title "The sanctity of Human Life Act, which is co-sponsored by freshman congressman Peter "Rubber Stamp" Roskam, declares that life starts at fertilization (not conception – fertilization, more on this later). This means an embryo, or more accurately a zygote, created by the act of fertilization, whether by natural means or with medical help, has all the rights of any person currently walking and breathing. Don’t believe me? A sample:
...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.
This legislation is stunning in its simplicity (the bill is only three pages long) and would redefine all current requirements for the term "Human Life," as it applies to laws, Statutes, or even constitutional protections.
Be afraid.
First, I need give credit where credit is due: bilco5 was first up with a diary on this topic. And tips for the folks helping Election Diary Rescue keep all of this great information front and center. I would have missed bilco5’s diary if I was not scanning Election Diary Rescue’s daily posting; sadly I wonder what other things I miss.
Second, please send a donation Jill Morgenthaler; she is trying to give the boot to "Rubber Stamp" Roskam, and needs all the help we can send her way. We need to put a stop to this kind of nonsense.
Now I agree with bilco5 when he/she states that this legislation will never get passed and yes Roskam is pandering to the religious zealots in his district, who toss money and votes his way each election cycle. But a little deeper look at the magnitude of what could happen if this ever passed is needed.
First a biology refresher:
A zygote is created when a man’s sperm fertilizes a woman’s egg; the single cell zygote starts to divide and travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus. Conception occurs when the zygote implants in the wall of the uterus and becomes a blastocyst. Normally 2 days after fertilization.
Keep in mind that until the zygote implants in the wall of the uterus, it has ZERO chance of growing into human.
With in-vitro the fertilization occurs outside the woman’s body, a doctor then attempts to implant the zygote (normally more than one) using a catheter into the uterus; conception normally occurs 1 time in 4 to 6 attempts.
This legislation would require states to protect any human eggs fertilized inside or outside a woman’s body – talk about big brother: "... paging Dr. Goldstein – paging Dr. Emmanuel Goldstein."
Sorry I digress.
Ok so how many frozen embryos are we talking about? Well the number is 400,000 according to Mother Jones Magazine, and that was in 2006! I hope Roskam helps amend this bill to explain where he is going to find the good solid Christian women to birth all this frozen human potential.
Any women here at DK up for couple of years of being barefoot and pregnant?
Behind the obviously ridiculous nonsense of this bill is a slippery slope of real nightmare questions to ask anyone who thinks, like Roskam, that this is a good idea.
Some thoughts:
- Will people be allowed to buy life insurance from the point of fertilization?
- Will a miscarriage be re-labeled "a death?"
- If a woman miscarries, could she be prosecuted if someone found out she was not following proper guidelines for pre-natal care? Like smoking or drinking?
- Will all currently frozen embryos that are no longer viable to implant, or a even the discard of a miscarriage, be required to receive names and be given a proper burial?
- Will restaurants have to have pregnant women sign a release wavier so if she gets served something which she has an allergic or other reaction to and she miscarries, the owner doesn’t get sued? What about gyms?
- A person stupidly drives drunk – lets say a family man with a wife and a couple of kids – but other than this one time has never been in trouble with the law. He kills a woman pregnant with triplets. Can he be prosecuted for four counts of involuntary manslaughter? Will he serve time for each count?
And why stop at fertilization; all cells are alive and each egg is basically just a cell, why not define human life as any human egg with the potential to become human life if fertilized? Would that be next?
I can hear some of you now: "dude that is waaay out there..."
Is it? Check out this Link.
Some highlights:
...suppose the nucleus of this egg were to divide and the resulting pair of nuclei were to fuse as if one of them came from a sperm. This cell would then be a diploid cell. What would prevent it from developing into a full-blown organism the same way a fertilized egg does?
The phenomenon is called parthenogenesis, from the Greek for "virgin birth."
Now where have I heard the term "virgin birth" before? Sorry I digress again.
Despite occasional claims made by unmarried pregnant teens in "Dear Abby" letters, there are no documented cases of parthenogenesis in humans.
Did I just hear someone say: what kind of crack pot publication are you citing? Well, when Lingua Franca Magazine ceased publication in 2001, the New York Times had this to say about it:
Chronicle of academic life halts publication
I don’t think that would stop ol’ Rubber Stamp or his fellow zealots in congress, from using something like this to advance their own ends. In fact people like this often use science when it suits them and ignore it when it does not.
Some of you are now thinking:
But that would mean every time a woman has a menstrual cycle it could be treated as an illegal act - A biologically imposed illegal abortion?
Maybe not an illegal act, but women might be forced to either save each egg for later fertilization or give it a decent burial.
I can't believe it just wrote that. Orwell would be proud.
All this hyperbole is meant to remove the righteous covering of "protecting human life" and expose the real reason that any male would want to pass this type of legislation
It is to ensure women are kept under their control. Period.
Not they kind of world I want my daughter, or son for that matter, to grow up in.