Representative Doug Lamborn presented House Resolution 464, known as the Recognizing Life Resolution, on Tuesday. This resolution acknowledges the constitutional personhood of preborn children, asserting their entitlement to legal protection as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.
The resolution calls upon the United States Congress to pass appropriate legislation that upholds the equal protection guarantee of the Fourteenth Amendment for preborn children across the nation. Additionally, it urges the United States Supreme Court to recognize and vindicate the rights of unborn children in every state and federal territory.
Resolution 464 states that “the intentional destruction of human life prior to birth through abortion is inimical to our national values, history, and sense of justice.”
Referencing the original framers of the Fourteenth Amendment, including Representative John Bingham, the resolution emphasizes their intention to prevent any state from denying human rights to any person.
The resolution highlights the drafters’ deliberate use of the inclusive term “any person” to prevent any future inferior and discriminatory treatment of any class of individuals. It further asserts, based on historical, medical, and scientific evidence, that unborn children were considered persons at the time of the Fourteenth Amendment’s adoption.
The Fourteenth Amendment is seen as codifying the protection of life, bodily autonomy, and security for all individuals, rather than endorsing the supposed right to abortion established by the Supreme Court in the 1973 case of Roe v. Wade.
Congressman Lamborn acknowledges the significance of the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. However, he states “while we are grateful that Roe has been overturned, there is still much work to be done to advance and strengthen the protection of human life, beginning in the womb.” He added, “The Recognizing Life Resolution…will guide future legislation and set the precedent for our nation to secure equal protection for unborn children and preserve the sanctity of life.”