Equal Protection

Health
1

Policy Proposal: Equal Protection Under the Law from Conception Until Natural Death

Purpose and Justification

The United States Constitution guarantees equal protection under the law through the Fourteenth Amendment, ensuring that no person is deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. However, the legal framework currently in place does not universally extend this protection to all human beings throughout their entire lifespan. This proposal seeks to address this gap by explicitly recognizing and affirming the right to life and equal protection for all people, from the moment of conception until natural death. By passing this legislation, Congress will affirm the inherent dignity and value of every human being, creating a legal and moral foundation for the protection of life in all stages of development.

Core Principles

  1. Human Dignity: Every human being has intrinsic worth and dignity, regardless of their stage of development, abilities, or circumstances. The government has a duty to protect the most vulnerable members of society, including unborn children, the elderly, and those with disabilities or terminal illnesses.

  2. Equal Protection: The principle of equal protection under the law demands that all individuals, from conception to natural death, be afforded the same legal protections. The current legal framework, which fails to extend full protection to unborn children, the terminally ill, and other vulnerable populations, is inconsistent with this constitutional mandate.

  3. Sanctity of Life: This policy is rooted in the belief that human life is sacred and should be protected at every stage. From conception, a unique human being with distinct DNA is formed, representing the beginning of life. Similarly, every person’s natural death marks the end of that life, which must be allowed to occur without undue intervention by others, including euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide.

Policy Provisions

  1. Recognition of Personhood:

This policy will define a “person” as any human being from the moment of conception until natural death. This includes embryos, fetuses, infants, children, adults, and elderly individuals. All persons will be entitled to the full protections of the Fourteenth Amendment, as well as other constitutional and statutory protections.

  1. Protection of the Unborn:

All preborn children, from the moment of conception, will be recognized as legal persons with the right to life. The federal government and state governments will be required to protect the lives of unborn children in the same manner that they protect born individuals. Any laws permitting the termination of unborn life, including abortion, will be considered a violation of the equal protection clause and will be invalidated.

  1. Prohibition of Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide:

This policy will prohibit any form of intentional killing of individuals at any stage of life, including euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Life-ending procedures will only be permissible when there is clear and convincing evidence that the procedure is necessary to save another life, in the case of self-defense, or in cases of terminal illness where palliative care cannot alleviate suffering but will not hasten death. Palliative care, aimed at reducing pain and suffering without hastening death, will be supported and encouraged.

  1. Support for Vulnerable Populations:

Recognizing the dignity of all people, this policy will require the federal government to increase support for vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, the disabled, the elderly, and those with terminal illnesses. This support will include access to health care, housing, food security, mental health services, and palliative care. Additionally, pregnancy resource centers will be encouraged and funded to provide support for women who choose to carry their pregnancies to term.

  1. Enforcement and Penalties:

The federal government will create a regulatory body to oversee the enforcement of equal protection laws for all individuals. This body will work with state governments to ensure compliance with the policy and address any violations. Penalties for violating the right to life, such as performing illegal abortions or participating in euthanasia, will be established and strictly enforced.

Conclusion

This policy proposal is a reaffirmation of the nation’s commitment to protecting human life and dignity. By establishing equal protection under the law from conception until natural death, Congress will ensure that all human beings, regardless of age, ability, or stage of development, are granted their constitutional right to life and due process. This legislation will create a more just and compassionate society, protecting the vulnerable and upholding the sanctity of life for all. It will also provide the necessary resources and support to ensure that life is not only protected but also respected and dignified at every stage.

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I agree with most of this and I like the language and the affirmations of humanity and life, EXCEPT I don’t agree with saying that unborn are “equal.” Objectively speaking, the pregnant woman’s life and her existing, born children are valued more than the unborn child. In addition, no president or federal legislator will ever support a total abortion ban, especially Trump. He also supports exceptions.

I have also created a policy about abortion and maternal healthcare. It’s a federal exception bill that also offers many meaningful concessions for pro-lifers/unborn. Would you please view it?

3

I appreciate your honest and thoughtful response, Ashley, and I will read your proposal. However, I disagree that “objectively” a woman and her born children are any more valuable than an unborn child. Is a rocket scientist more intrinsically valuable than someone with mental disabilities simply because they have a higher functioning mind or a higher contribution to society? I would say absolutely not. Human dignity and the value of life are only established and found in one source. That source is our image-bearing of the Creator of all things. I will never support anything outside full equal protection under the law for all people at all stages of life, and I hope more Americans will join me. The truth is we are all fearfully and wonderfully made, knit together in our mother’s wombs, known by name before the foundations of this cosmos were established.

4

I have an idea for one simple change you should consider making. If you make this one change, then I will vote on it, and personally advocate for all pro-life legislators to support it.

Instead of saying that the constitution should demand a full ban on abortion, we should say that this constitutional amendment says that the federal and state governments have the right to impose legal protections for unborn babies. This idea would not only make your idea viable, but it would effectively erase claims that pro-life laws is a “states-rights only” issue and would allow legislators to decide what the best policy to vote on.

I would further suggest adding something that says something to the effect of, or such that, individual voters cannot use ballot measures to impose a “right” to kill unborn babies for elective reasons, and that any state constitutional amendment that claims that women have a “right” to kill unborn babies, is therefore invalid. The amendment would still allow room for state legislators to decide how they will regulate abortion or whether or not they agree to impose penalties or criminal punishments against abortion. But this way, we can negate the ability for non-elected people to supercede the pro-life laws created by legislators, when often times the ballot measures are written in a deceptively vague manner and most people are severely misinformed on this issue.

What do you think?