Idaho Code 18-8802 – Legislative Findings and Intent
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The legislature finds and declares that:
(1) The life of each human being begins at fertilization, and preborn children have interests in life, health, and well-being that should be protected.
Terms Used In Idaho Code 18-8802
- Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
- Fetal heartbeat: means embryonic or fetal cardiac activity or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart within the gestational sac. See Idaho Code 18-8801
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories; and the words "United States" may include the District of Columbia and territories. See Idaho Code 73-114
(2) The cardiopulmonary definition of death, which is the reigning common law standard for determining death, is defined as the "irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions." This cardiopulmonary definition of death was included in the uniform determination of death act, a model law that was adopted by numerous medical and ethics organizations, including the national conference of commissioners on uniform state laws, the American medical association, and almost all states in the United States.
(3) Legal standards and the medical community at large both affirm that a consistent human heartbeat, independent of life support, is a core determining factor in establishing the legal presence of human life in a full range of circumstances, for old and young alike.
(4) The heartbeat of a preborn child begins at a biologically identifiable moment in time that can be detected and imaged by medical equipment.
(5) A detectable fetal heartbeat and its characteristics is a key medical predictor in whether a preborn child will reach live birth.
(6) The fetal heartbeat, when detected, presents a clearly identifiable point at which the preborn child in the womb has a greater than ninety-five percent (95%) chance of survival when carried to term.
(7) The presence of a human heartbeat is a more reliable indicator of life than the medically uncertain concept of "viability" and whether that preborn child is "potentially able to live outside the mother’s womb."
(8) Therefore, the state of Idaho has a compelling interest in protecting the life of a preborn child at all stages of its development, including after the preborn child has a detectable heartbeat, which signals rhythmically and without pause the presence of a precious and unique life, one that is independent and distinct from the mother’s and one that is also worthy of our utmost protection.