Free Republic

Colorado Cmte Kills Bill to Protect Pregnant Women From Violence by Steven Ertelt LifeNews.com Editor February 9, 2006 Denver, CO (LifeNews.com) -- On a party line vote Thursday, Democratic members of a Colorado legislative panel killed legislation that would have protected pregnant women and their babies before birth by allowing criminals who assault them and kill or injure their child to be prosecuted for two crimes. The House Judiciary Committee vote upset families members of those who have been victims of such violence. Colorado Springs resident Erin-Lea Hanson told the Coloradoan newspaper that her unborn grandson "had as much a...

Richmond Township, MI (LifeNews.com) -- A teenager who was responsible for using a miniature baseball bat to answer his girlfriends request to cause her to have an abortion will probably not serve any time in jail after reaching a plea agreement. The teen could also have the conviction wiped off of his criminal record. At a hearing Wednesday before Macomb County Juvenile Judge Matthew Switalski, the now 17 year-old entered a no contest plea to a charge of assaulting a pregnant woman and causing a miscarriage. The charge normally puts a criminal in the adult system behind bars for approximately...

THE RIGHT CALL: There will be a lot said and written about the verdict in the Scott Petersen case. There will be a lot written and said about the sentence. So what should I say? I am no legal eagle - I don't pretend to be. But in cases like this one - where I was only surface-level aware of the day to day events I didn't really "plug in" until the very end. It seems to me that the guilty verdict came off to some legal "experts" as a surprise. "No physical evidence" is the phrase that is heard...

Virginia legislators have proposed nine bills this General Assembly session that would give individual legal rights to a fetus killed or injured by a criminal act. If the bills are passed, prosecutors could potentially charge people injuring or killing a fetus with two crimes - one for the fetus, one for the pregnant mother. Prosecutors in 28 states already can charge the unlawful killing of a fetus as murder or manslaughter. Virginia is among the minority of states without a fetal homicide law. "Surely Virginia needs to join the ranks of those states," said Brenda Fastabend, president of the Virginia...

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- The pro-abortion group NARAL is attempting to mobilize their supporters in opposition to several pieces of legislation under consideration in the upcoming session of Congress. Labeling September as "anti-choice month," NARAL warns supporters in an e-mail to "speak out and try and stop" measures that would protect the lives of unborn children. The NARAL e-mail, with the subject "Please Protect a Woman's Right to Choose," was sent to abortion supporters to be distributed to Congressmen regarding the upcoming legislative debate on abortion legislation. The e-mail expresses "serious concern" regarding "numerous attacks in Congress on privacy rights...

Republican majority may hasten ban on 'partial-birth' abortions By JUDY HOLLAND Hearst News Service Aug. 29, 2003, 8:52PM WASHINGTON -- Republicans are confident they are on the cusp of winning an eight-year battle to outlaw a controversial medical procedure that opponents call "partial-birth" abortion, the first in a handful of measures aimed at enacting limits on abortion. They also are upbeat about approving legislation that would make it a federal crime to kill or harm a fetus. The Republican control of Congress and the White House make it more likely than ever that the anti-abortion bills will become law this...

NATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE MEDIA ALERT FOX NEWS CHANNEL TO AIR SERIES ON UNBORN VICTIMS For some time, the Fox News Channel has been working on a story on "fetal rights" issues, including the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. In preparing this series, Fox interviewed Tracy Marciniak of Wisconsin, whose unborn son Zachariah was killed in a criminal assault in 1992. (The photo of Tracy holding Zachariah has been featured in NRLC's ads and on the NRLC website at www.nrlc.org.) Fox also taped Tracy's testimony before a U.S. House subcommittee on July 8. In addition, Fox interviewed Wisconsin Right to...

The Senate may be closer to considering the Unborn Victims of Violence Act if Senate leaders can agree on the terms of the debate. Senate Majority Leader Bill First (R-TN) sought unanimous consent on Wednesday to bring up the pro-life bill (S 1019). However, Senate Minority Whip Harry Reid (D-NV), objected. Reid told Frist he objected because pro-abortion Senators, led by Diane Feinstein (D-CA) wanted to offer a number of amendments to the bill. He said Democrats may be ready as early as Thursday to bring up the bill for consideration. Pro-life advocates expect Feinstein will offer a competing bill...

Unborn Victims Of Violence Act Stalled Summary: On July 23, 2003, Senate Democrats refused to allow a vote on the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (S. 1019). Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) held a press conference on July 23, 2003 to urge passage of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (S. 1019). Democrats successfully blocked a full Senate vote.senator diane feinstein (d-ca) is planning on offering a list of amendments to S. 1019 next week that will effectively gut the effectiveness of this legislation. Pro-abortionists are determined to make sure that no humanity is accorded the unborn child-not even...

There is an item on the Senate's legislative calendar of which I was recently reminded by a good friend. The bill is S. 1019, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, and was introduced by Sen. Mike DeWine (R.-Ohio) on May 7, 2003. In his introduction of the bill, Sen. DeWine noted, "In about half of the States today, 26, if you commit a crime of violence against a pregnant woman and her unborn baby dies, you can be punished for the violence against both the mother and the unborn child. But, tragically, if you commit a Federal crime of violence...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- On Tuesday afternoon, the House Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee held a hearing on the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (H.R. 1997). Those who testified told members of the subcommittee that the bill recognizes there are two victims when a pregnant mother is attacked and an unborn child is killed or injured. Tracy Marciniak, a Wisconsin woman who lost her unborn son Zachariah when her husband assaulted her, told the members to look at a photograph of her and her dead son. "I ask you to look at this photo to look at this photograph and ask yourselves:...

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Tracy Marciniak survived a Feb. 8, 1992, assault for which her then-husband was later convicted. Her unborn son Zachariah did not survive the attack. She has since become an advocate for legislation to punish unborn victims of violence and told members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution about her experience Tuesday. "The first time I ever held him in my arms, he was already dead," Marciniak said, pointing to a photo of herself holding Zachariah's body at the child's funeral. "I know that some lawmakers and some groups insist that there is no...