Posted on 02/27/2004 5:09:42 PM PST by SwinneySwitch
Critics say law would be used to undermine abortion rights; Senate passage in doubt
WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives passed a bill 254-163 on Thursday that would make it a separate crime to kill or harm a fetus during an attack on a pregnant woman.
Opponents of the bill, such as Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York -- the senior Democrat on the Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on the Constitution -- say its definition of an unborn child as "a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb" could be used to undermine abortion rights.
"The legislation simply changes federal law and allows for prosecution of two crimes against two victims," said Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Pa., the bill's sponsor.
The bill faces a more difficult test in the Senate, where it would probably need agreement from the Democratic leadership or face a filibuster.
President Bush lauded the passage of the bill in a statement and urged the Senate to pass it.
"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," he said.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., proposed an alternative that would have increased penalties for attacks on pregnant women that hurt an unborn child, but would not have given separate legal rights to the fetus. It was defeated 229-186. Senate opponents are prepared to offer a similar alternative.
"This is a problem that I believe all members of Congress want to confront, but I want to do so in a way that does not undermine a woman's right to choose," said Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who voted against the version of the bill that eventually passed.
Gloria Feldt, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said the bill's sole aim is to undermine the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision by elevating the legal status of the fetus to that of the mother.
Twenty-nine states, including Texas, already have similar laws that allow prosecution in cases where an unborn child is injured or killed. Proponents of the bill say it would provide an avenue to prosecution in states that don't have them.
This article contains material from other wire services.
If the woman he is abusing is pregnant, TOO BAD FOR HIM!
In an earlier age he would have been burned at the stake, or at the least, hanged by the neck until dead.
If this proposed law becomes fact I expect that crimes against women will drop, sharply.
Of course, us men will have to get ready for increased crime.
A pocket gun will help.
Does not undermine a woman's right to choose what Ms Baldwin? A right to choose whether her unborn child will live or die? Maybe those women should have chosen to keep their legs together so that they would not have to choose whether a human life needs to end, for the convenience of the mother.
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