Puerto Rico enacts law defining unborn children as human beings
On Thursday, Gov. Jenniffer González signed Senate Bill 923, an amendment to the territory’s Penal Code that alters the legal definition of a “human being” to include an unborn child at any stage of gestation.
Puerto Rico’s governor has approved a highly debated change to the island’s criminal code that formally recognizes a fetus as a human being, a decision that critics say could have sweeping effects on health care and civil rights in the U.S. territory.
On Thursday, Gov. Jenniffer González signed Senate Bill 923, an amendment to the territory’s Penal Code that alters the legal definition of a “human being” to include an unborn child at any stage of gestation.
The change was adopted without public hearings, drawing criticism from medical professionals and legal experts.
Dr. Carlos Díaz Vélez, president of Puerto Rico’s College of Medical Surgeons, warned that the new language will push medical decisions into the criminal justice arena.
“This will bring complex clinical decisions into the realm of criminal law,” he told The Associated Press.
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