Since the 119th Congress convened on Jan. 3, hundreds of bills have been introduced. A majority of these bills have been proposed and cosponsored by Republicans, hopeful that the Republican majority in the House and Senate will work in their favor.
House Resolution 722, sponsored by Representative Eric Burlison of Missouri, is a bill “To implement equal protection under the 14th article of amendment to the Constitution for the right to life of each born and preborn human person.”
Since its introduction on Jan. 24, the bill has stirred up a lot of controversy across social media, with many users expressing confusion and concern.
What sets this piece of legislation apart is not the common vagueness of its text, but the ethical boundaries it crosses and the women’s livelihoods it puts at stake. It speaks to larger themes in our Congress that require increased attentiveness by the American people.
The 14th Amendment grants citizenship and equal rights of “life, liberty, or property” to all those born in the United States. H.R. 722 seeks to redefine the lives of fetuses as equal to the lives of people – and this redefinition would be upheld in all 50 states.
While the creator of the bill, Rep. Burlison, refers to H.R. 722 as a “Life At Conception Act,” many social media users and activist organizations refer to it as a “national abortion ban.” According to Fox 2 Now, the bill does not specify a ban, though it could set a precedent for it.
If these interpretations are true, H.R. 722 does not concern pro-life versus pro-choice. This bill sits outside the abortion debate and raises red flags for the potential criminalization of both abortions and miscarriages at any developmental stage and for any reason.
Miscarriage treatment has already been affected by the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 and the subsequent abortion bans and restrictions throughout various states. According to a study from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a miscarriage that cannot be expelled from the body naturally requires medical intervention identical to that of an abortion.
“In states without exceptions for lethal anomalies, pregnant people may be forced to continue a pregnancy where loss is inevitable,” the survey wrote. “In some cases, this may place pregnant people at risk for childbirth-related health risks when a termination earlier in the pregnancy would have been less risky to them.”
According to a 2015 National Library of Medicine study, miscarriages occur in 15-20% of pregnancies, though many survey participants believed the number was 5%.
If fetuses are seen as equal humans who are guaranteed the same rights and due process of the 14th Amendment, the death of the unborn child may be tried as manslaughter. The bill also does not explicitly state this, but it is the common consensus across social media.
In this case, there would be no federal exception for when an untreated miscarriage puts the mother’s life at risk, as the fetus and the mother are considered of equal livelihood under the bill. Not only would the bill have the potential to prosecute mothers with miscarriages, but it also has the potential for fatal consequences.
A Jan. 29 TikTok video garnered over 200,000 likes in 24 hours by discussing this topic.
“The government doesn’t care how pro-life you are when they’re criminalizing you for something your body did naturally,” said TikTok user Darbles, referencing miscarriages. “Something you might not have even known was happening at the time. Something that you cannot prevent, either.”
H.R. 722 is yet another reminder of the misinformation surrounding pregnancies, abortion, and miscarriages – especially by men.
The aforementioned study also found discrepancies between what people perceived to be major causes of miscarriages and what is the truth. While most participants believed that the most common cause was a genetic or medical problem, 22% believed it was due to lifestyle choices, with men believing the latter 2.6 times more than women.
Although only 6% of introduced bills are passed and made law, the simple introduction of some bills is cause for concern, especially considering the level of support H.R. 722 has received. 15% of the House’s 435 total members support this bill. Of these 67 cosponsors, only nine are women.
Regardless of its potential criminalization, miscarriage continues to be extremely stigmatized and silenced according to the World Health Organization. More than half of survey participants who had suffered a miscarriage reported feeling guilty, alone or that they did something wrong.
We don’t have to sit idly by as our livelihoods and lives are at risk. We as Americans can be ahead of the curve and pay attention to proposed bills. In the description for each bill is a link to give your feedback by contacting your representatives and senators.
Click the description of H.R. 722 to take action.
