Embryo Rights: Are they Intended for Abortion?

Tennessee State Senate offered its near-unanimous approval to a measure that would make it a crime to harm a fetus at any point in a woman's pregnancy. The period that qualifies as harmful acts is prior to six weeks, which occurs before the time of an actual development features to the embryotic fetus as well during the time in which you can have an abortion.

The supporters of the bill, including the proponents involved in the formulation, claim that the bill has nothing to do with abortion but is for the right of the embryo, including but not limited to the legal prosecution of anyone who harms or sexually assaults a pregnant woman. This would mean that during anytime a pregnancy, along with assault, an additional crime for fetal harm will be a charge.

As stated in the article, “Proposed laws like Tennessee's often serve to lay the foundation for eventual bans on abortion and criminalization of abortion providers. One of the two lone votes against the measure wondered if the law will require every female assault victim of reproductive age to be tested for pregnancy to make sure a potential cell clump is unscathed." Unfortunately it is especially concerning that the Republican Lieutenant Governor described the measure as an important step in the "battle against the culture of death." Insinuating that in order to create a vivid and socially acceptable society we need to stop these murders who embrace abortions.

On the surface the bill seems like a valiant effort to care for the embryo, but is the reasoning truly what they say it is?

An incident like this happened in Arizona early April after the “Women’s Health and Safety Act" was passed. This law states that women are now legally pregnant two prior to conception. This severe legislation is designed to reduce the amount of time a woman is allowed to have a legal abortion, and is one of the most drastic bills to become law in America, according to David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement Company. Planned Parenthood of Arizona lobbyist Michelle Steinberg stated that the law “defines pregnancy in a way that bans abortion two weeks before the other seven states with similar laws, because it calculates gestational age starting with the first day of the last menstrual period rather than the date of conception.”

Doctors, pregnant woman, and those who plan on getting pregnant are now worried that if any life-threatening problem is to occur with their pregnancy, they are facing the issue of being cut off from having a right to an abortion.

If you would like to find out more about this law click here.

Here is a great video pertaining to these issues in a comic way.

by Ashley Cummings