Puerto Rico Catholic governor signs historic personhood law for the unborn

(OSV News) — On Dec. 21, Puerto Rico’s Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón approved Law 183-2025, which amends the Civil Code of Puerto Rico and recognizes the unborn child or “nasciturus” — a Latin legal term referring to “conceived but not born” — as a natural person from conception.

Father Carlos Pérez Toro, pastor of Santa Rosa de Lima Church in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and civil lawyer graduate of Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law, explained to OSV News the implications of this new law, which marks a milestone in the history of pro-life advocacy in the U.S. territory.

New law recognizes personhood of unborn

Father Pérez Toro participated as a legal advisor in the drafting of the new Civil Code of Puerto Rico, which came into force at the end of 2020, and has served as a legal advisor in the legislative debate on issues such as the dignity of the human being during pregnancy and religious freedom. A renowned pro-life advocate on the island, he has presented bills to the Senate of Puerto Rico and participated in numerous academic conferences.

The priest pointed out that thanks to this law, “It is recognized that the human being in gestation is a natural person from the first moment of conception; using a legal term that only applied when a human being was born, it is said that he or she has legal personality and capacity from the first moment of conception.”

“Thank God we have achieved clear recognition in Puerto Rico that the human being in gestation is a natural person with all rights, as if he or she had been born. Imagine what that means for the mother who now has a new instrument to defend her child,” said Father Pérez Toro, who explained that every pregnant woman in Puerto Rico can now designate her unborn child as an heir.

“What this law does is equate the child in the womb with a child who has been born. The future prospects that this law will have for a human being in gestation and the mother are unimaginable,” said the priest. He indicated that, for example, in tax matters, a child in the womb can be claimed as a new dependent when it comes to paying taxes in Puerto Rico.

Unborn have ‘essential rights’ in Puerto Rico Civil Code

Father Pérez Toro explained that the Civil Code “regulates relations between private parties, private citizens, property relations, personal rights relations, etc.” 

He added that Article 74 of the Civil Code of Puerto Rico, “Enjoyment of Essential Rights,” recognizes “essential rights of personality, dignity and honor, freedom of thought, conscience or religion, freedom of action, privacy, inviolability of his/her home, physical and moral integrity, and intellectual creation.”

“All of this applies to the human being in gestation,” said the priest and jurist, who also addressed the cultural implications that this law will have among islanders. “That is not a fetus. That is a ‘nene,’ as women in Puerto Rico call the human being in gestation, the child in the womb. They say, ‘That is my ‘nene,’ and they celebrate when they see the first ultrasound of the ‘nene’ in the first weeks when it has a little head, etc. This Civil Code does justice to that Puerto Rican cultural expression that there is not a ‘cell,’ not a ‘zygote,’ but a human being, a ‘nene’ like the ‘nenes’ who walk the streets.”

This priest also celebrated and expressed his gratitude that — despite pressure from various sectors, public letters from law and medical schools, and the silence of some institutions — the evangelical churches “fought the good fight, and they fought it with passion.”

For her part, Kelsey Pritchard, communications director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, told OSV News that this new law in Puerto Rico “is a historic victory for babies and moms across the island and a powerful example for lawmakers throughout the United States.”

“Science is clear that a new, distinct human life begins at conception, and this law reflects that reality. It sends a clear and hopeful message: Every single person has value and deserves a chance at life,” said Pritchard. She added the pro-life organization “applauds Puerto Rico’s leaders for choosing compassion, human dignity, and protection for the most vulnerable among us.”

Marietha Góngora V. is an OSV News correspondent. She writes from Maryland.

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