North Carolina lawmaker introduces bill to protect human life from the moment of fertilization

A North Carolina lawmaker has announced a bill in the state House of Representatives to protect human life from the moment of fertilization.

The “Life at Conception” Act (H.B. 163), introduced by Rep. Beverly Boswell, states that preborn children are human beings entitled to constitutional protection. The measure would recognize the “equal protection for the right to life of each born and preborn human person.”

“It will rescue thousands of unborn children in North Carolina from dying by abortion on demand,” Boswell stated.

H.B. 163 states that it will not require “the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child” and will not prohibit in vitro fertilization or “the use of birth control or another means of preventing human fertilization.”

Referring to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, Boswell said her state should address the crucial issue of when human life begins.

“The 14th Amendment states: ‘no state shall “deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law,’” Boswell said. “The State of North Carolina should settle the question the Supreme Court said it could not resolve.”

Science confirms that human life begins at the moment of fertilization, when a sperm fuses with an oocyte to form a single cell called the zygote.

Pro-Life NC Executive Director Tonya Baker Nelson praised the legislation but had strong words for the state’s Republican members, who, “while in control of the House, the Senate, and the Governor’s mansion[,] didn’t seem to be able to take the initiative to reduce these brutal abortion numbers.”