equal protection of the laws: a right guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution and by the due-process clause of the Fifth Amendment
human right: (law) any basic right or freedom to which all human beings are entitled and in whose exercise a government may not interfere (including rights to life and liberty as well as freedom of thought and expression and equality before the law)
bacteria: (microbiology) single-celled or noncellular spherical or spiral or rod-shaped organisms lacking chlorophyll that reproduce by fission; important as pathogens and for biochemical properties; taxonomy is difficult; often considered to be plants