[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 22 (Thursday, February 6, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           RIGHT TO LIFE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DUNCAN HUNTER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 5, 2003

  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation that, if 
passed, will once and for all protect our unborn children from harm. 
Over 1.3 million abortions are performed in the United States each year 
and over 38 million have been performed since abortion was legalized in 
1973. This is a national tragedy. It is the duty of all Americans to 
protect our children--born and unborn. This bill, the Right to Life 
Act, would provide blanket protection to all unborn children from the 
moment of conception.
  In 1973, the United States Supreme Court, in the landmark case of Roe 
v. Wade, refused to determine when human life begins and therefore 
found nothing to indicate that the unborn are persons protected by the 
Fourteenth Amendment. In the decision, however, the Court did concede 
that, ``If the suggestion of personhood is established, the appellants' 
case, of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life would be 
guaranteed specifically by the Amendment.'' Considering Congress has 
the constitutional authority to uphold the Fourteenth Amendment, 
coupled by the fact that the Court admitted that if personhood were to 
be established, the unborn would be protected, it can be concluded that 
we have the authority to determine when life begins.
  The Right to Life Act does what the Supreme Court refused to do in 
Roe v. Wade and recognizes the personhood of the unborn for the purpose 
of enforcing four important provisions in the Constitution: (1) Sec. 1 
of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibiting states from depriving any 
person of life; (2) Sec. 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment providing 
Congress the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the 
provision of this amendment; (3) the due process clause of the Fifth 
Amendment, which concurrently prohibits the federal government from 
depriving any person of life; and (4) Article I, Section 8, giving 
Congress the power to make laws necessary and proper to enforce all 
powers in the Constitution.
  This legislation will protect millions of future children by 
prohibiting any state or federal law that denies the personhood of the 
unborn, thereby effectively overturning Roe v. Wade. I firmly believe 
that life begins at conception and that the preborn child deserves all 
the rights and protections afforded an American citizen. This measure 
will recognize the unborn child as a human being and protect the fetus 
from harm. The Right to Life Act will finally put our unborn children 
on the same legal footing as all other persons. I hope my colleagues 
will join me in support of this important effort.

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