[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2135 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2135

     To amend title 42, United States Code, to protect human life.


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 5, 1998

 Mr. Smith of New Hampshire (for himself, Mr. Helms, and Mr. Ashcroft) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend title 42, United States Code, to protect human life.

    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 ``Human Life Act of 1998''.

SEC. 2. PROTECTION OF HUMAN LIFE.

    (a) In General.--Title 42 of the United States Code shall be 
amended at the end thereof by adding the following new chapter:

                             ``CHAPTER ____

``Sec. ____. Protection of human life
    ``(a) The Congress finds that the right to life is the paramount 
and most fundamental right of a person.
    ``(b) The Congress further finds that the life of each human being 
begins at fertilization.
    ``(c) Upon the basis of these findings, and in the exercise of the 
power of Congress under section 5 of the fourteenth amendment to the 
Constitution, the Congress hereby recognizes that for the purpose of 
enforcing the obligation of the States under the fourteenth amendment 
not to deprive persons of life without due process of law, nor to deny 
persons within their jurisdictions the equal protection of the laws, 
the word `person' applies to all human beings, irrespective of age, 
health, function, or condition of dependency, including their unborn 
offspring at every stage of their biological development including 
fertilization.
    ``(d) No unborn child shall be deprived of life by any person: 
Provided, however, That nothing in this section shall prohibit a law 
allowing justification to be shown for only those medical procedures 
required to prevent the death of either the pregnant woman or her 
unborn offspring as long as such a law requires every reasonable effort 
to be made to preserve the lives of both of them.''.
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