WASHINGTON — Rep. Mooney, Alexander X. [R-WV-2] has introduced H.R. 816—the Life at Conception act. The act would use the 14th Amendment to guarantee the right to life at all stages of life. The bill would also prevent prosecution of a woman for the death of her unborn child.

The bill defines a human person or human being as:

…every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.

The bill provides:

However, nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child.

The bill is broadly defined to include cloning or any other method of fertilization which results in an embryo.

The bill, which was introduced February 9, has 82 co-sponsors and was referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice on March 16. Only one Democrat has co-sponsored the bill.