The United States House of Representatives has answered a question long-debated by abortion… The United States House of Representatives has answered a question long-debated by abortion rights- and anti-abortion groups: When does human life begin?

-Yesterday, the House passed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act – designated Laci and Conner’s Law, after Laci Peterson and her unborn son, who were killed in California – that would grant unborn children victim’s rights.

-If passed, the law would mean that if a pregnant woman were murdered, her killer could be charged with a double murder, rather than one murder. House Democrats offered an alternate bill, one in which the killer would be charged with killing one person, but with more severe penalties than currently exist.

-Convicting someone of two murders does not vastly differ from convicting them of one. If the Democrats’ version passed, it would be equal in its effects, without redefining when life begins.

-Abortion rights activists are worried that this law grants rights to a fetus, by recognizing an unborn child as fully human, and could be used to justify banning abortion. And considering that the National Right to Life Committee lobbied for this legislation, these advocates might have a case.

-But, while this slippery slope idea may not be applicable, there is reason to worry, since the bill defines when human life begins:

-An “unborn child” is any “member of the species Homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.”

-This could lead to vagaries concerning the interpretation of the law. For instance, if a woman pregnant with twins were killed, would this count as a triple murder? And, if someone killed a woman who was unaware that she was pregnant – as was her killer – would his intent matter in what he was convicted of?

-Human life should not be redefined so breezily, and without regard to current medical standards or the U.S. Constitution. The 14th Amendment extends “equal protection under the law” to all people “born or naturalized in the United States,” but this law seems to contradict the “born” part of this, by extending rights to the unborn as separate citizens.

-Violence against women, especially pregnant women, is a cause for national concern. But passing the legislation will not end such violence; instead, it will only throw more gasoline onto the already fiery debate over when human life begins.

-Two similar bills have been passed by the House, but tabled by the Senate. Hopefully, given this bill’s inadequacies, they will be three-for-three.