Posted on 10/17/2002 12:27:25 PM PDT by nickcarraway
DETROIT, October 16, 2002 (LSN.ca) - The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that a pregnant woman may use deadly force to protect her fetus even when she does not fear for her own life. Legal experts quoted by the New York Times suggest that the decision has "opened another front in the legal wars surrounding abortion."
The case involves Jaclyn Kurr and her late boyfriend, Antonia Pena, the man with whom she became pregnant. She testified that after Pena punched her in the stomach when she was 16 to 17 weeks pregnant with quadruplets, Kurr stabbed him in the chest with a kitchen knife, killing him. She was charged with manslaughter, and the jury rejected her assertion that she had been acting in self-defense. She was sentenced to five to 20 years in prison. But the Michigan appeals court reversed the conviction and ordered a new trial, on grounds that the trial judge failed to allow for the defense that she was acting to protect not only her own life but also "in defense of others," namely "her unborn children."
Judge Patrick M. Meter wrote: "Our holding today does not apply to what the United States Supreme Court has held to constitute lawful abortions [in Roe v. Wade]. ... This issue... is not raised by the parties, is not pertinent to the resolution of the instant [i.e. the current] case, and does not drive our ruling today.
"Indeed, the issue today is straightforward: Is a nonviable fetus entitled to the protection of the laws of the state of Michigan such that an individual, typically the mother, may defend the fetus during an assault against the mother? We conclude that an individual may indeed defend a fetus from such an assault and may even use deadly force if she honestly and reasonably believes the fetus to be in danger of imminent death or great bodily harm."
Can she also use deadly force against those who would try to counsel her from aborting that same fetus?
I'll call us even...
SR
That is an EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT point. The best analogy along those lines I have ever heard til yours is "dump a naked man on the north pole and see how long he survives." Your point applies nicely there also.
Kudos to the Judge!
Such is the manifest absurdity of the illogical "pro-choice" position.
I understand your sentiments but we must take a lesson plan from our opponents time tested playbook and that is we will eventually get what we want (with one small step at a time). We will not get Roe v. Wade overturned (at least in its entirety) in one fell swoop. That abhorrent decision will be whittled down with small victories from every corner of this nation over time.
Unfortunately though that means that in the mean time thousands/millions of Makers' miracles will still be murdered until that time comes.
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