I like Sam Brownback

From what I've seen, he's not one of those politicians who's timid about the abortion issue. Here's a question he laid out for John Roberts this morning.

The very root of the issue is the legal status of the unborn child. This is an old debate. Whether that child is a person or is a piece of property is the root of the debate.

In our legal system, everything's either one of the two: you're either a person or you're a piece of property. If you're a person, you have rights; if you're a piece of property, you can be done with as your master chooses.

And I believe everyone agrees that the unborn child is alive. And most agree that biologically it is a life, a separate genetic entity. But many will dispute whether it's a person. These may be legal definitions, but that's the way people would define it.

Could you state your view as to whether the unborn child is a person or is a piece of property?