House Committee holds back bill to change words “fetus” to “preborn child”
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) - A bill to replace the words embryo and fetus with preborn child in Idaho law is on hold.
Rep. Julianne Young, R-Blackfoot, sponsored House Bill 400. The bill would replace “embryo,” and “fetus” with “preborn child” or “child.”
“We have not used these terms that are clear and consistent and every time we use this, it is from fertilization to birth,” Rep. Young said. “The term ‘preborn child’ clearly captures that full span and is more accurate and, I believe, also more clearly expresses the respect and value that the state of Idaho places on the lives of these preborn children.”
Several parents and medical professionals testified against the bill.
Dr. Cristin Slater, a Boise reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist said, “If legislation is going to make law, I want the law to be accurate and follow medical terminology. This is going to affect medicine and affect people, I want it to be accurate.”
“Medical definitions are precise definitions. The term preborn child has a different cultural connotation that can have legal consequences,” Grace Christensen, an Idaho State University student said.
“There are many reasons to oppose this bill, but I am speaking to what I feel is the most important – the potential criminalization of pregnancy,” Dr. Martha Lund, a retired OB-GYN physician, said. “By changing language from fetus to preborn child, presumably this will mean that the rights of a child will be incurred upon the fetus,” Lund said. “This in turn makes potentially anyone who miscarries a potential felon.”
The committee voted to hold the bill in committee.
