The California Human Rights Amendment is a ballot proposition which is currently in the Attorney General's office for review prior to being circulated. The proposition simply says, "The term 'person' applies to all living human organisms from the beginning of their biological development - regardless of the means by which they were procreated, method of reproduction, age, race, sex, gender, physical well-being, function or condition of physical or mental dependency and/or disability."
In other words, all life begins at conception.
And every California and Federal statute about "persons" applies to the newly conceived from the moment they were conceived. Thinks about what this really means.
How Many Women Will Actually Be Effected by this Law?
Any woman of child bearing age (from puberty until menopause is finally completed) will be covered. That means most women between the ages of 10 and 60 could be subject to enhanced legal scrutiny under this proposition.
The March of Dimes estimates as many as 50% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage before the woman realizes she is pregnant. About 15% more pregnancies end in a miscarriage once the pregnancy is known. Under this proposition, all of these women would face potential legal consequences because they killed a person when they miscarried.
Miscarriages Could Lead to Manslaughter and Murder Charges
Under this proposition, a miscarriage becomes a reportable death requiring a death certificate to be issued. It won't matter if the miscarriage is after one day or 270 days, a death is still a death and requires a death certificate issued by a doctor or the medical examiner. If the death is unattended, meaning you are not in a hospital or under the care of a physician willing to attest to the cause of death, the death needs to be investigated to determine if criminal negligence was involved. If you do not report the death for investigation, you could be charged with criminal conspiracy to conceal a potential crime. Either way, the police and medical examiner become involved in investigating your miscarriage.
The other issue that arises is when is a miscarriage manslaughter and when is it murder under this proposition? If you smoke while pregnant, even if you don't know you are pregnant, does that make the miscarriage manslaughter or murder because smoking is a known risk to pregnant women? If you go snowboarding while pregnant, fall (a common occurrence) and miscarry several days later, is it manslaughter or murder because you risked falling during snowboarding while pregnant?
And, a final indiginity. If you're diagnosed with a medical condition, such as lupus or a cardiac condition, your doctor advises you against pregnancy, and you choose to become pregnant and miscarry, is this murder because you took actions which knowingly could lead to the death of another person?
Medical Care for Pregnant Women Becomes Legal Thicket
Under this proposition, medical professionals face a steep legal challenge:
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