.... Last week, by a vote of 61-to-38, the Senate passed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, also known as "Laci and Conner's Law," which makes the death or injury to a "child in utero" a federal crime when it is committed in the course of another violent federal crime. President Bush immediately applauded: "Pregnant women who have been harmed by violence, and their families, know that there are two victims -- the mother and the unborn child -- and both victims should be protected by federal law. I look forward to signing this important legislation into law."
Abortion, medical treatment, and the acts of the woman herself are specifically exempted. But some people can't get abortion politics out of their heads.
Sharon Rocha, Laci Peterson's mother and Conner Peterson's grandmother, wrote in 2003: "What I find difficult to understand is why groups and senators who champion the pro-choice cause are blind to the fact that these two-victim crimes are the ultimate violation of choice." In a Feb. 26 statement rejecting a substitute bill proposed by Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., Rocha said: "Laci knew that Conner was her son, and I know it too. Two people, Laci and Conner, would be here with us today if they had not been murdered. There were two victims in this crime, not one."
Last week, only 38 senators voted against Laci and Conner's law. Sen. John Kerry was one of them. In a letter to constituents, Sen. Kerry expressed concern that, even though abortion is specifically exempted, recognizing two victims might somehow undermine Roe v. Wade. full story