Lawmakers in several Republican-led states have introduced legislation promoting “fetal personhood,” the idea that fetuses and embryos are entitled to the same rights as people. But critics say fetal personhood laws create legal chaos and have ripple effects beyond abortion, from contraception access to fertility treatments, tax credits to the criminalization of pregnancy outcomes.
So if a five-year-old can’t be held responsible and killed for hitting its mother by being thrown at her, because it was the dad who threw it, then how can a fetus be held responsible and killed for existing and causing harm to the mother, even though it never chose to exist at all and was conceived by another person?
So if a five-year-old can’t be held responsible and killed for hitting its mother by being thrown at her, because it was the dad who threw it, then how can a fetus be held responsible and killed for existing and causing harm to the mother, even though it never chose to exist at all and was conceived by another person?