SB200: SB200 Persons and Their Rights; that life is valued and protected from the moment of conception; provide

Georgia law currently does not include a statement in Title 1 (the code chapter on persons and their rights) declaring when legal personhood begins. This bill would add a new Code section, O.C.G.A. § 1-2-12, stating that life is valued and protected from the moment of conception and that each life from that moment receives the same rights and protections the Constitution and Georgia law guarantee to all persons. The bill defines conception as the joining of sperm and egg into a fertilized ovum or zygote, and separately defines abortion and abortifacient (a method that ends a pregnancy after conception) versus contraception (a method used before conception, which does not include abortifacients). It also states the new section should not be read to create a right to abortion or to ban any form of contraception. The bill repeals any conflicting laws but does not include a separate stated effective date.

• Adds a new Code section, O.C.G.A. § 1-2-12, stating life is valued and protected from the moment of conception.
• Declares that from conception, each life gets the same rights and protections the U.S. Constitution, Georgia Constitution, and Georgia law give to all persons.
• Defines key terms including conception, abortion, abortifacient, and contraception for purposes of this new section.
• Specifies that contraception used before conception is legally distinct from an abortifacient used after conception.
• States the new section cannot be interpreted to create a right to abortion or to restrict access to contraception.
• Repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with this new section.

The bill's language most directly concerns pregnant women, unborn children from the moment of conception, and anyone involved in providing or regulating abortion, abortifacients, or contraception in Georgia, since it sets a legal definition of when personhood and its protections begin.

By legally defining life as beginning at conception and extending full legal rights from that point, the bill could affect how courts and other laws in Georgia interpret personhood in contexts like criminal law, family law, or future abortion litigation, even though it explicitly says it does not create an abortion right or restrict contraception.

• Section 1 adds new Code section 1-2-12 to Chapter 2 of Title 1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.
• Subsection (a) defines 'abortifacient' as inhibiting pregnancy at any stage after conception, and 'contraception' as inhibiting pregnancy before conception, explicitly excluding abortifacients from that definition.
• Subsection (a) also defines 'abortion' as terminating a known pregnancy with reasonable likelihood of causing the unborn child's death, and defines 'conception' as sperm fertilizing an ovum to form a zygote.
• Subsection (b) declares that Georgia recognizes life is valued and protected from conception, with the same rights as any person under federal and state constitutions and law.
• Subsection (c) clarifies the new section does not create or recognize a right to abortion and does not prohibit any means of contraception.
• Section 2 repeals all Georgia laws or parts of laws that conflict with this Act.

1. 2025-02-20Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-19Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Colton Moore (R, SD-053)Primary sponsor

• abortion law
• fetal personhood
• reproductive rights
• contraception
• Georgia Code definitions