In the halls of modern legislation, a new deity is being enshrined. It does not demand the bowing of the knee in a cathedral, but rather the total submission of the law to the altar of Individual Autonomy. California’s AB 2223—and the wave of “shield laws” following in its wake—serves as a chilling manifesto for this movement. Under the guise of “reproductive freedom,” these laws are systematically erasing the biblical concept of the Imago Dei (the Image of God) from our legal code.
The “Perinatal” Shadow: When Life Becomes a Medical Outcome
For centuries, the first breath of a child was recognized as the definitive moment a new person entered the protection of the human family. This mirrored the biblical reality found in Genesis:
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7, KJV)
AB 2223 shatters this boundary. By utilizing the term “perinatal death,” the law extends a zone of legal immunity that covers not just the womb, but the days and weeks following birth. In this “shadow zone,” the death of a newborn is no longer treated as the death of a “living soul” that requires investigation, but as a “pregnancy-related outcome.”
By removing the coroner’s mandate to investigate these deaths, the state has effectively declared that certain lives are “hidden” from the law’s protection. When the state refuses to look at the death of a child, it is declaring that the child’s value is not inherent, but conditional.
The Inversion of Authority
At the heart of the “Religion of Self” is the belief that the individual is the ultimate arbiter of life and death. This is the “Ultimate Antichrist Lie”—the promise of the serpent that “ye shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5).
AB 2223 codifies this lie by creating a Private Right of Action against those who seek the truth. If a nurse, a doctor, or a law enforcement officer suspects that a newborn has been neglected or harmed and initiates an investigation that “interferes” with this new “right,” they can be sued personally.
This is a total inversion of biblical justice. The law, which is meant to be a “terror to evil works” (Romans 13:3), is instead being used to terrorize those who would protect the innocent. It punishes the whistleblower and protects the “omission” that leads to death.
The Shield of Secularism
The 2025 “Shield” updates to these laws further entrench this apostasy. By treating pregnancy data as “sacred” and unreachable by law enforcement, the state has created a secular version of “sanctuary.” However, this sanctuary is not for the weary or the persecuted; it is a sanctuary for the unchecked will of the self.
This is the subtle erosion of the Word in action. When we stop defining life by God’s standards, we inevitably begin to define it by our own convenience. The result is a society where the “key of David”—the authority to open and shut, to grant life or permit death—is seized by the hand of man.
Conclusion: A Heritage Denied
The Bible is clear that children are not “outcomes”; they are a heritage.
“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” (Psalm 127:3, KJV)
AB 2223 and its 2025 amendments are more than just “legal mumbo jumbo.” They are the bricks and mortar of a new temple dedicated to the self. As the state retreats from its duty to protect the “living soul,” the Church must stand as the witness to the truth that every life, from the first spark to the final breath, belongs to the Creator, not the collective.