Babies would be recognized as full human beings worthy of protection under a pending congressional bill from Missouri Republican Eric Burlison.

Rep. Burlison recently introduced the “Life at Conception Act” along with 68 cosponsors and the backing of pro-life groups.

The simple two-page bill defines “human person” and “human being” to include all humans from “the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.”

The legislation affirms that the 14th Amendment’s protections for “life, liberty, or property” apply to all human beings.

Some legal scholars, such as Princeton University Professor Robert George and University of Oxford Professor John Finnis, have argued the 14th Amendment should apply to preborn babies.

“Every life is a sacred gift from God, deserving of dignity and protection from the moment of conception,” Burlison stated in a news release. “The Life at Conception Act uses Congress’ constitutional authority to define personhood, fulfilling our moral and legal obligation to safeguard the lives of the unborn.”

The National Pro-life Alliance also endorsed the bill, saying it “reaffirms the original intention of the writers of the 14th Amendment by declaring that the word ‘person’ includes all persons from the moment of conception.”

While Rep. Burlison mentioned religion, it is not just a moral truth that life begins at conception, but also an established scientific fact. A study of biologists on when life begins in mammals found around 95% agreed it began at conception.

Legislators in some states and at the federal level may introduce legislation to protect babies at a certain point such as at viability or at 15 weeks or at 12 weeks or at six weeks. They might be well-intentioned and trying to find what is politically possible, even if it is not as protective of preborn life as desired.

However, establishing in law that life begins at conception should be the ultimate goal of the pro-life movement, because every life is deserving of protection. The basic debate between the pro-life and pro-abortion side is when life begins and when it is deserving of protection.

When there is a human life, it must be protected. Therefore, it makes the most sense to protect life in law when it begins: at the moment of conception.