Posted on 05/11/2009 6:14:59 PM PDT by markomalley
Austin, Texas, May 6, 2009 / 09:55 pm (CNA).- A Texas bill proposing to reduce significantly the penalty for the murder of young infants by their mothers conveys the message that newborns and infants are "less valuable people," a Texas pro-life leader warns.
The introduced version of House Bill 3318 adds the offense of "infanticide" to the Texas penal code. It defines infanticide as a state jail felony "if the person willfully by an act or omission causes the death of a child to whom the person gave birth within the 12-month period preceding the child’s death" and if the person’s judgment was impaired as a result of the effects of giving birth or the effects of lactation following the birth. After revision by the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, the latest version said the defendant may "raise the issue" whether the defendant’s judgment was impaired by the effects of giving birth or by the effects of lactation. If such impairment is proven, the offense is categorized as a state jail felony. In contrast to a first degree felony, a state jail felony carries a maximum sentence of two years and a minimum of 180 days, the Austin American-Statesman reports. At present, the murder of anyone under the age of six brings a capital murder charge. The bill was introduced by Rep. Jessica Farrar (D-Houston). Though Rep. Farrar is a self-described Catholic, NARAL Pro-Choice Texas has praised her as "a fierce supporter of family planning and reproductive choice." Rep. Farrar acknowledged that the bill is unlikely to be voted on by the House floor. "I think that we got this far is pretty significant," she told the American-Statesman. The bill is reportedly aimed at women who show symptoms of postpartum psychosis. The condition was cited in the case of Andrea Yates, a Texas mother who drowned her five children six months after giving birth to her youngest. George Parnham, a Houston attorney who represented Yates, helped write the measure.
"When the Andrea Yates case happened, honestly, I thought she should be thrown under the prison," Farrar told the Austin-American Statesman. "But then I came to learn more about what the condition was ... when you're looking at culpability, you have to consider the mental state, and that mental state was caused by hormones that were triggered by the pregnancy." Dave Welch of the Texas Pastor Council said the bill goes too far because it mentions only "effects of birth or lactation" rather than a specific condition. "That opens a door you can drive a Mack truck through," Welch said. CNA spoke with Elizabeth Graham, Director of Texas Right to Life, who in a Wednesday e-mail warned that Texas families could be "jeopardized" by the bill. "With the penalties for murder lessened, the state would be sending that the lives of newborns and infants are less valuable people than others. However, this is consistent with Representative Farrar’s unblemished pro-abortion record through which she has demonstrated her belief that women should be free to dispose of their unborn children; now she is extending that belief to children who are born," she said. Graham claimed the bill was part of the abortion lobby’s attempt to "dehumanize segments of the human family." Graham noted that Rep. Farrar had also spoken against the state’s Unborn Victims of Violence Act. "If Rep. Farrar were sincerely interested in helping women, she would also recommend counseling, medical, and psychiatric assistance to women who are murdering their small children due to emotional and hormonal imbalances," Graham told CNA.
She encouraged pro-life advocates to call or e-mail their state legislators to oppose the bill. H.B. 3318 must now pass through the House Calendar Committee, which is mostly Republican. Farrar said she plans to address the issue in the next legislative session if it does not pass the committee. |
What? Texas? This is something you’d expect from Massachusetts.Unless,of course,the small child in question is “of color” or “gay”.
Kinda like the way they praise that devout Catholic....Edward Moore Kennedy.
Just another pro-death liberal.
Abortion is one of those issues in which I have never ever been able to see any merits of any kind for those who practice it.
It cannot possibly be anything else but murder. I could see it when I was ten years old and first heard of the practice which was illegal at the time but beginning to be debated.
The fact that it is legal now shows just how depraved the human being is capable of being.
Killing a two year old seems worse to me than murdering an 80 year old.
Liberalism knows no borders!
Rep. Farrar acknowledged that the bill is unlikely to be voted on by the House floor.
Introducing and getting it to the floor for a vote are two entirely different accomplishments. There have been over 7000 bills introduced this legislative session the vast majority of which won’t make it to enactment.
The fact that it is even introduced should be of MAJOR concern.
If your are from Chicago they give you 4 years in DC.
Nuts are elected in every state I’m sure and aren’t just the captives of Texas....... You can’t control what is introduced but it doesn’t have to be enacted.
You mean "geezericide" ... a lesser crime than murder and applicable only if the geezer was dull, tended to ramble, or was costing the government money for medical care ... punishable by up to six months in jail? I expect Obama to push for its legalization to help fund his UAW bailout and other payoffs to his political supporters.
BTW, the "two year" reference was the prison term; the age after which murdering your own baby becomes murder is twelve months. Also, the reasoning is supposed to be that the mother is presumed to be suffering from post-partum psychosis and less responsible, not that the baby is short and thus less human. I'm with you and don't agree with their reasoning - murder is murder, let the judge/jury decide if there's a reason to deviate from sentencing guidelines.
This is just a step towards legalizing 7th trimester abortions.
They should make an amendment to that bill that reduces the sentence to a maximum of 2 years of any father who kills a woman who killed his newborn child in the last 12 months. After all we need to consider the fathers “mental state” as well...
What kind of crap is this?
Peter Singer would be proud of this day
What kind of monster supports this? Pure evil and it needs to be stopped.
Someone should introduce a bill that limits the punishment for killing a legislator to two years in prison.
I’ll second that motion!
She’s sporting a mullet. Nuff said.
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