Puerto Rico governor signs bill recognizing unborn babies as human beings

Puerto Rico’s Republican governor signed a bill Thursday that changes a law that recognizes an unborn baby as a human being; Opponents argued this could eventually lead to abortion being outlawed on U.S. soil.

Gov. Jenniffer González said in a statement that the measure “seeks to maintain consistency between civil and criminal provisions by recognizing the unborn child as a human being.”

The amendment to Senate Bill 923 changed an article in the Puerto Rico Penal Code that defines murder.

The government said the amendment supplements the law, which affirms that if a suspect deliberately and knowingly kills a pregnant woman and results in the death of the conceived child at any stage of the pregnancy, it is first-degree murder.

SOUTH CAROLINA GOP Lawmakers introduce bill that would criminalize abortion as murder

The law was named after Keishla Rodríguez, a pregnant woman who was killed in April 2021. His partner, former Puerto Rican boxer Félix Verdejo, was convicted of murder and sentenced to two life sentences.

Supporters of the law said it was designed to ensure consistency between civil and criminal laws and focus on harsher penalties for killing pregnant women, and that it had nothing to do with abortion; but critics argued that this opened the door to eventually criminalizing the procedure, which is still legal in Puerto Rico.

“A zygote is given legal personality,” Rosa Seguí Cordero, an attorney and spokeswoman for the National Campaign for Free, Safe and Accessible Abortion in Puerto Rico, told The Associated Press. “We women have been deprived of our rights.”

WYOMING SUPREME COURT RULES, laws restricting abortion violate state constitution

Gov. Jenniffer González said the measure “seeks to maintain consistency between civil and criminal provisions by recognizing the unborn child as a human being.” (RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images)

President of the College of Medical Surgeons of Puerto Rico, Dr. Carlos Díaz Vélez claims the new law will lead to “defensive healthcare” where doctors may refuse to treat complicated pregnancies for fear of criminal prosecution on murder charges.

“This will bring complex clinical decisions into the realm of criminal law,” he told The Associated Press, adding that it would have “disastrous consequences.”

Díaz said the amended law also allows a third party to intervene between a doctor and a pregnant woman, which violates privacy laws. He also said that new protocols and regulations must be implemented.

“The system is not ready for this,” he said.

Critics of the law argued that it opened the door to criminalizing abortion in Puerto Rico. (KAREN BLEIER/AFP via Getty Images)

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION

Opponents of the law also said the amendment was approved without public hearings.

“There is no question that the measure did not undergo adequate analysis before approval and leaves an unacceptable area of ​​uncertainty on civil rights,” Annette Martínez Orabona, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Puerto Rico, told The Associated Press. he said. “Legislative leadership failed in its responsibility to the public, and so did the governor.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.