Puerto Rico Enacts Pro-Life Laws Recognising Unborn Children as Legal Persons

Puerto Rico, Jan 6, 2026: With the signing of new laws recognising the unborn child as a legal person, Puerto Rico ended 2025 with what lawmakers described as major progress in the protection of life.

On December 22, 2025, Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González signed Law 183-2025, which states that a human being in the womb, at any stage of pregnancy, is a “natural person.” The law legally recognises the unborn child as a human person, distinct from legal entities such as companies or institutions.

Three days earlier, on December 20, the Governor signed Law 166-2025, which classifies the death of an unborn child as first-degree murder if a crime against a pregnant woman results in the loss of the child. The same punishment applies if the unborn child dies due to violence or force used against the mother.

Puerto Rican Senator Joanne Rodríguez-Veve described 2025 as a year of “unprecedented progress” in defending life.

Indian Law and the Catholic Perspective

In India, the legal approach is different. The Constitution guarantees the right to life under Article 21, but unborn children are not legally recognised as persons. Abortion is regulated under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, which permits abortion under specific conditions, including risk to the mother’s life, rape, or foetal abnormalities, within defined gestational limits.

Unlike Puerto Rico’s new laws, Indian law does not treat harm to an unborn child as murder, nor does it grant legal personhood to the unborn. The developments in Puerto Rico therefore highlight a wider global debate on the legal and moral status of unborn life.

The Catholic Church teaches that human life must be protected from the moment of conception and holds that abortion is a grave moral wrong. At the same time, the Church calls for compassion, care, and support for women facing difficult or crisis pregnancies, while urging societies and governments to uphold the dignity of every human life.

In India, several faith-based and civil groups advocate for the protection of unborn life, including the annual pro-life march organised by the Catholic Church, held in one diocese each year, which is scheduled to take place in Chennai on August 9, 2026.

By Catholic Connect Reporter