Committee hears hours of testimony on bill to define ‘person’ in state law

House Bill 250, a proposal to specify rules of construction and definitions for the term “person” in Wyoming statutes, drew extended debate and public testimony at the Labor, Health & Social Services Committee hearing. The bill’s sponsor, identified in the transcript as Speaker (Mr. Speaker), framed the measure as an effort to define when human life qualifies for constitutional protection and to clarify legislative intent for courts.

The bill would change statutory interpretive language so that, “when applicable to the individual, ‘person’ is someone who possesses at least one of the following” listed biological functions including heart function, respiratory system function, central nervous system or brain function, skeletal or organ development, and others. The sponsor said the proposal is intended to create a statutory definition that shows legislative intent for the courts and to establish protections for unborn life subject to narrow exceptions for medical necessity.

The committee’s…