The following is an editorial by Armstrong Williams.
I was convinced, without any moral doubts. Life begins at conception. But my conviction was instinctive rather than intellectual. Then I began to think. I could be wrong. There are simple answers to life’s most complex questions, but they are often wrong. And who gave me the authority to decide for others when life begins? Complications and dilemmas immediately arise.
If life begins at conception, then every abortion is murder – the deliberate taking of a human life. Anyone who assists in abortions could also be prosecuted for aiding and abetting murder. That would mean millions of murder trials every year.
There can be no exceptions, not even for rape, incest, or to save the mother’s life. Embryos, after all, are morally pure and free from sin. They have not yet had the opportunity to enjoy life outside the womb. The mother may not have done anything wrong, but at least she has enjoyed life more than the embryo. In other words, by any moral standard, the embryo seems to be more deserving of life than the mother.
The United States Constitution would prohibit any state from allowing abortion. The 14th Amendment prohibits the killing of a human being without due process of law. And an embryo is as innocent as a lamb. Is that the intent of the authors of the amendment? When the amendment was ratified in 1868, abortion was widespread.
In addition, fathers would have to pay child support to mothers from the moment of conception to optimize their health care and reduce the likelihood of giving birth to a newborn with defects or disabilities. This would also include the costs of medical and hospital examinations. Courts would have to appoint guardians at the time of conception to control the mother’s behavior and nutrition to promote the birth of the embryo with maximum health and vitality. The father would have to pay the guardian as part of the child support.
The Constitution requires a census of all “persons” every ten years to determine the allocation of seats in the House of Representatives among each state. Since personification begins at conception, census takers would have to test women to determine if they are pregnant to get an accurate count. The constitutional mandate of one vote per person in drawing congressional, state, and local districts would also require women within district boundaries to be tested for pregnancy. Pregnant women would be eligible for the child tax credit for embryos or fetuses, which would be doubled or tripled if twins or triplets were expected. IRS auditors would have to test women claiming child tax credits for pregnancy and provide further evidence if twins or triplets are claimed.
The law allows the use of deadly force to prevent one person from killing another. If abortion is murder of an unborn human life, then mothers seeking abortions and persons assisting them in obtaining them could be killed in defense of another’s life.
Section 1 of the 14th Amendment grants U.S. citizenship to persons “born in the United States,” but not to unborn embryos or fetuses. Is Section 1 itself unconstitutional because it arbitrarily treats born and unborn children differently?
If the frozen embryos are unborn children, then their disposal is intentional murder.
The Supreme Court of Alabama ruled that frozen embryos, i.e. unborn children, have the same rights as born children. Killing unborn or born children is murder.
Pro-choice advocates deny that life begins at conception. But who gave them that power? Not the United States Constitution.
The law decides whether life begins at conception. And the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision gives that decision to the states. The Constitution allows states to punish abortion as murder, allow abortion on demand, or choose something in between.
Neither the Constitution nor the law authorizes scientists to decide when life begins, although lawmakers can consider their views in making decisions. A scientific paper published in 2021 examined the findings of 5,577 biologists. An overwhelming percentage (or 5,337 biologists) believed that life begins with the fertilization of the egg. Lawmakers would be wise to consider their views, as well as those of philosophers or clergy, in defining the beginning of life. There are no easy answers here.
The Dobbs ruling gave new momentum to the pro-choice movement, which had languished during the heyday of Roe v. Wade. Since then, all six states that have held abortion referendums have returned pro-choice results: California, Michigan, Ohio, Vermont, Kentucky and Kansas. In 2024, as many as 12 states could have abortion laws on the ballot, seeking to affirm either that the state constitution protects the right to abortion or that nothing in the constitution confers such a right.
Perhaps the best answer to the question of when life begins is: “It depends.”
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Mr. Williams is the manager/sole owner of Howard Stirk Holdings I and II television stations and the 2016 Multicultural Media Owner of the Year.
www.armstrongwilliams.com | www.howardstirkholdings.com
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Editor’s Note: Sinclair Broadcast Group has a business relationship with Armstrong Williams, a political commentator and owner of Howard Stirk Holdings.
