House Resolution 62 PAG LIN 1 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.___ 1 2 BY ALONS, DE BOEF, BODDICKER, ROBERTS, CHAMBERS, 1 3 LALK, BOAL, LUKAN, KRAMER, KURTENBACH, and MERTZ 1 4 A Resolution to recognize that human life exists at 1 5 the point of conception. 1 6 WHEREAS, there is no agreement among the various 1 7 medical, religious, philosophical, and scientific 1 8 perspectives regarding when human life begins and 1 9 should be protected; and 1 10 WHEREAS, from a medical perspective, when human 1 11 life begins might be defined as the point that a fetus 1 12 reaches viability, but the point of viability has 1 13 grown shorter as medical science and technology have 1 14 advanced, making viability not a true measure of when 1 15 human life begins but a measure of the state of 1 16 medical science and technology; and 1 17 WHEREAS, from a religious perspective, when human 1 18 life begins might be defined as the point that the 1 19 soul is created by a higher being, but no test can 1 20 measure the creation of a soul; and 1 21 WHEREAS, from a philosophical perspective, when 1 22 human life begins might be defined as the point at 1 23 which there is consciousness of self, but this point 1 24 is not clearly measurable; and 1 25 WHEREAS, if the question of when human life begins 1 26 is considered not a medical, religious, or 1 27 philosophical question, but one of science; and 1 28 WHEREAS, from a scientific perspective, life is 1 29 defined as the state of existence characterized by 1 30 active metabolism, and a human is considered to be 2 1 alive if the human can convert nutrients into energy 2 2 for growth and cell division, both of which are 2 3 possible at conception; NOW THEREFORE, 2 4 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 2 5 That based on a scientific perspective, human life is 2 6 recognized as existing at the point of conception; and 2 7 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That by recognizing the 2 8 point at which human life first exists it is hoped 2 9 that all perspectives regarding the sanctity of human 2 10 life can work together to recognize and protect human 2 11 life beginning at the point of conception. 2 12 LSB 2807YH 80 2 13 pf/cl/14