S. 91 Life at Conception Act Remains in Committee

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Last March I wrote about Senator Roger Wicker's "Life at Conception Act" (S.91). The bill approaches the abortion debate at a whole new angle, by not attacking Roe v. Wade directly, but by using an end around that draws the 14th Amendment into the equation.

The abortion issue is a State issue. Conservatives and Constitutionalists alike share that view. The federal government has no authority to pass legislation on the issue. Therefore, Roe v. Wade, the court case that is said to have made abortion legal, is unconstitutional. It was an example of the courts legislating, and overturning a State law - both of which the courts have no authority to do.

Liberals will tell you that the constitutionality of something like abortion is decided by case law. Judges, the Left will tell you, has the authority to interpret the Constitution, and take cases regardless of powers granted by the Constitution.

The argument by the Left regarding Judicial Review is wrong.

The battle over abortion has raged on, and Roe v. Wade has been at the center of that debate. The argument by the liberal left is that outlawing abortion takes away the right of a woman to have an abortion. But what about the right of the child to live?

Overturning Roe v. Wade has not worked, and the liberal left refuses to accept that abortion is a State issue. So how can those that support life approach the issue, outlaw abortion without overturning Roe v. Wade, and do it in a constitutional manner?

Justice Blackmun, in his opinion of the Roe v. Wade case, wrote that if ever it was determined when life begins, Roe v. Wade would be history.

Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker's "Life at Conception Act" (S. 91) aims to define human life as beginning at the moment of fertilization. By defining life as beginning at conception, the legislation would prohibit abortion across the country. By determining that life begins in the womb. However, this is not unconstitutional, for it tackles the issue of abortion in a manner that allows the federal government to take it on. If unborn babies of America would be considered to be alive, this would give them full constitutional protections, which would include equal protection under the law as per the 14th Amendment - which would protect them from being treated differently from all other Americans, and all other Americans are protected against being murdered.

Abortion is a State issue because the federal government does not have the power to authorize the killing of the unborn. However, the federal government does have the authority to ensure that all people considered alive are equally treated under the law. Wicker's S. 91 would prohibit abortion, and his bill would accomplish that feat constitutionally.

A reader asked for an update on this bill, and currently it is in committee, and has been sitting there since January. The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has done nothing with the bill, and it is very possible the bill will die in committee.

It is time to contact our Senators and demand that S. 91 be taken seriously, and receive the kind of attention it deserves.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary