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Thursday February 26, 2004
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U.S. House Passes Bill to Recognize Unborn Child as Second Victim of Violent Crimes
WASHINGTON, February 26, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The U.S. House of Representatives today recognized that a federal crime against a pregnant women claims two victims, passing the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (H.R. 1997), also known as "Laci and Conner's Law," by a vote of 254-163. The bill would recognize as a legal victim any "child in utero" who is injured or killed during the commission of a federal crime of violence. The bill defines "child in utero" as "a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb." The bill explicitly exempts abortion or any act of a woman affecting her own unborn child.
Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist (R) has already been pressing for action on the bill in the Senate, which has never before voted on the issue of fetal homicide. But so far he has been blocked by procedural obstacles erected by Democratic senators.
While President Bush strongly supports the bill, Democratic frontrunner Kerry has written a letter opposing the bill (see it here: http://www.nrlc.org/Unborn_Victims/kerryemailUVVA.html )
"This bill would recognize, for federal crimes, that when a criminal attacks a woman and kills her unborn child, he has claimed two victims," commented NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson. "Advocacy groups like the ACLU oppose the bill because they insist that such a crime like the killing of Laci and Conner Peterson has only one victim, but 80% of the public favors a double homicide charge in such a case."
Twenty-nine (29) states already have laws that allow separate homicide charges for unlawful killing of an "unborn child" or "fetus," at least in some circumstances. Federal and state courts have consistently rejected all legal attacks on these laws.
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