Bill Summary: Life at Conception Act (H.R. 616)

The Life at Conception Act, also known as H.R. 616, is a bill introduced in the House of Representatives during the 116th Congress, 1st Session. The purpose of the bill is to implement equal protection rights under the 14th amendment of the United States Constitution for both born and preborn human persons.

The bill was introduced by Mr. Alex Mooney of West Virginia, along with many co-sponsors. It was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Key Provisions:

Section 1: Short Title

This section states that the bill may be referred to as the "Life at Conception Act".

Section 2: Right to Life

This section declares that the right to life, as guaranteed by the Constitution, is vested in every human being, whether they are born or preborn. It further states that this implementation of equal protection is within the duty and authority of Congress under Article I, section 8, and section 5 of the 14th amendment of the Constitution. However, it explicitly states that the Act does not authorize the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child.

Section 3: Definitions

This section provides two key definitions for the Act:

- Human Person/Human Being: These terms encompass every member of the species Homo sapiens, at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or any other moment when an individual member of the human species comes into existence.

- State: The term "State" includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other U.S. territory or possession.

The HTML format of the bill text is as follows:

I 

116 THCONGRESS 

1STSESSION  H. R. 616 

To implement equal protection under the 14th article of amendment to the 

Constitution for the right to life of each born and preborn human person. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 16, 2019 

Mr. M OONEY of West Virginia (for himself, Mr. J ONES , Mr. D AVIDSON of 

Ohio, Mr. R OONEY of Florida, Mr. P ALMER , Mr. M ASSIE , Mr. K ELLY of 

Mississippi, Mr. G OSAR , Mr. L AMBORN , Mr. C OMER , Mr. K ELLY of Penn- 

sylvania, Mr. H UIZENGA , Mr. W ILLIAMS , Mr. R OGERS of Alabama, Mr. 

ZELDIN , Mr. M ULLIN , Mr. J OHNSON of Ohio, Mr. S MUCKER , Mr. K ING 

of Iowa, Mr. B IGGS, Mr. H ICEof Georgia, Mr. D UNCAN , Mr. G AETZ , Mr. 

GIANFORTE , Mr. F LORES , Mr. W EBER of Texas, Mr. Y OUNG , Mr. 

HAGEDORN , Mr. T HOMPSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. G ROTHMAN , Mr. H UD- 

SON, Mr. R ESCHENTHALER , Mr. C ARTER of Texas, Mr. C HABOT , Mr. 

KUSTOFF of Tennessee, Mr. M ARSHALL , Mr. W ENSTRUP , Mr. L ONG, Mr. 

LAHOOD, Mr. H OLDING , Mr. S MITH of Missouri, Mr. E MMER , Mr. B ILI- 

RAKIS , Mr. H OLLINGSWORTH , Mr. C OLLINS of New York, Mr. C OLE, Mr. 

SMITH of Nebraska, Mr. B ABIN , Mr. G UEST , Mr. M AST, Mr. W OMACK , 

Mr. J OHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. R OUZER , Mr. W ESTERMAN , Mr. 

SPANO , Mr. C ONAWAY , Mr. B ACON , Mr. G RAVES of Georgia, Mr. B ISHOP  

of Utah, Mr. K EVIN HERN of Oklahoma, Mr. M OOLENAAR , Mr. G IBBS, 

Mr. M EADOWS , Mr. A RRINGTON , Mr. B ANKS , Mrs. R OBY, Mr. F ORTEN - 

BERRY , Mr. R UTHERFORD , Mr. B RADY , Mr. H ARRIS , Mr. O LSON , Mr. 

JOHN W. R OSE of Tennessee, Mr. R ATCLIFFE , Mr. B ROOKS of Alabama, 

Mr. N ORMAN , Mrs. W AGNER , Mr. W ATKINS , Mrs. H ARTZLER , Mr. G OH- 

MERT , Mrs. L ESKO , Mr. A LLEN , Mr. E STES , Mr. P ALAZZO , Mr. H IGGINS  

of Louisiana, Mr. S TEUBE , Mr. B UCK, Mr. W EBSTER of Florida, Mrs. 

MILLER , Mr. P ETERSON , Mr. L UETKEMEYER , Mr. G ALLAGHER , Mr. 

JORDAN , Mr. G RAVES of Missouri, Mr. W RIGHT , Mr. F ULCHER , Mr. 

BUCSHON , Mr. B YRNE , Mr. M ARCHANT , Mr. S TAUBER , Mr. J OHNSON of 

Louisiana, Mr. M CKINLEY , and Mr. J OYCE of Pennsylvania) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

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•HR 616 IHA BILL 

To implement equal protection under the 14th article of 

amendment to the Constitution for the right to life of 

each born and preborn human person. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 

tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Life at Conception 4 

Act’’. 5 

SEC. 2. RIGHT TO LIFE. 6 

To implement equal protection for the right to life 7 

of each born and preborn human person, and pursuant 8 

to the duty and authority of the Congress, including Con-9 

gress’ power under article I, section 8, to make necessary 10 

and proper laws, and Congress’ power under section 5 of 11 

the 14th article of amendment to the Constitution of the 12 

United States, the Congress hereby declares that the right 13 

to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each 14 

human being. However, nothing in this Act shall be con-15 

strued to authorize the prosecution of any woman for the 16 

death of her unborn child. 17 

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 18 

For purposes of this Act: 19 

(1) H UMAN PERSON ; HUMAN BEING .—The 20 

terms ‘‘human person’’ and ‘‘human being’’ include 21 

each and every member of the species homo sapiens 1 

at all stages of life, including the moment of fer- 2 

tilization, cloning, or other moment at which an indi- 3 

vidual member of the human species comes into 4 

being. 5 

(2) S TATE .—The term ‘‘State’’ used in the 6 

14th article of amendment to the Constitution of the 7 

United States and other applicable provisions of the 8 

Constitution includes the District of Columbia, the 9 

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and each other terri- 10 

tory or possession of the United States. 11 

Æ

Rep. James Hagedorn

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