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To go to the main Unborn Victims of Violence Page,
click here.
For further information, send e-mail to
Legfederal@aol.com, or call
202-626-8825.
This is an update from the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), issued
Thursday, March 25, 2004, at 7 a.m. For further information on the Unborn
Victims of Violence Act, call (202) 626-8825 or (202) 626-8820, or visit the
NRLC website section
on unborn victims of violence at
http://www.nrlc.org/Unborn_victims/index.html.
U.S. SENATE VOTES TODAY
ON
THE UNBORN VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE ACT ("LACI AND CONNER'S LAW")
AND THE FEINSTEIN 'SINGLE-VICTIM SUBSTITUTE'
FAMILY MEMBERS OF VICTIMS, BORN AND UNBORN,
WAIT OUTSIDE THE SENATE TODAY TO URGE
RECOGNITION OF CRIMES THAT CLAIM TWO VICTIMS
WASHINGTON (March 25, 2004) -- The U.S. Senate will vote today on
whether federal crimes that are similar to the murder of Laci and Conner
Peterson have one victim, or two.
The Unborn Victims of Violence Act (H.R.
1997), also titled "Laci and Conner's Law," passed the House of
Representatives on February 26, 254-163. President Bush has repeatedly
urged Congress to pass the bill. Senator John Kerry
opposes the
bill.
Kerry supports the "single-victim substitute" to be offered by Senator
Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.). The Feinstein Substitute would codify the
doctrine that when a woman and her unborn child are injured or killed during
a federal crime, that crime has only a single victim.
The Feinstein Substitute attempts to provide an additional penalty for
crimes that result in "interruption of the normal course of a pregnancy,"
but fails to accomplish even this, according to the
Department of Justice and
other
analysts.
This week, family members who have lost loved ones -- born and unborn -- in
violent crimes, have come to Washington to urge senators to recognize that
these crimes have two victims, and to reject the Feinstein single-victim
substitute. These include Sharon Rocha and Ron Grantski, the mother and
stepfather of Laci Peterson, who was killed with her unborn son Conner in a
much-publicized crime that the State of California is prosecuting as a
double homicide. They have appeared on Good Morning America, The O'Reilly
Factor, and other media expressing their support for Laci and Conner's Law
and their opposition to the Feinstein single-victim substitute. Members of
families of victims from other states (see details below) will be present
today in the Senate Reception Room during the debate, or may be reached
through the NRLC office at (202) 626-8825.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TODAY
The Senate will begin debate on the House-passed bill at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Under a unanimous consent agreement, debate is limited to six and one-half
hours.
Two opponents of the bill, Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.) and Patty
Murray (D-Wa.), will each offer a single amendment. Supporters of H.R. 1997
regard these amendments as "killer" amendments -- but if both amendments are
defeated, the Senate will proceed immediately to a vote on final passage of
the bill, with no filibuster allowed.
WHAT THE UNBORN VICTIMS BILL WOULD DO
H.R. 1997 would
include a "child in utero" as a second victim when he or she is injured or
killed during commission of a violent federal crime against his or her
mother. The bill applies to specific existing federal laws, such as
military crimes, crimes in federal jurisdictions, terrorism, and stalking
across state lines.
The bill defines "child in utero" as "a member of the species homo sapiens,
at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb."
The bill explicitly EXCLUDES abortion, medical treatment, and any action of
the mother herself with respect to her own unborn child.
FAMILY MEMBERS SPEAK OUT
In increasing numbers, members of families who have lost loved ones -- born
and unborn -- are speaking out in favor of state and federal fetal homicide
legislation, and
against the "single-victim" ideology. A number of such
victims and family members of
victims
are
in Washington this week to meet with senators and engage in other activities in support of the Unborn Victims of
Violence Act and
in
opposition to the killer amendments. They may be contacted for
interviews through NRLC 202-626-8825. They include:
-- Carol and Buford Lyons, whose 18-year-old daughter Ashley Lyons and
unborn grandson Landon (fifth month) were murdered in Scott County,
Kentucky, on January 7, 2004. A full account, including a ultrasound video
of Landon made only hours before the killings, is posted on the NRLC website
under the title "Remember
Their Names." The Kentucky legislature enacted a fetal homicide law
last month, partly in response to this case.
-- Tracy Marciniak, whose unborn son Zachariah (ninth month) was killed by a
violent attack, but not recognized as a victim under Wisconsin law at that
time. In
testimony before the U.S. House Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee on
July 8, 2003, Marciniak challenged lawmakers to view a
photograph of
her cradling the body of her slain son. She suggested that those who
believe the photograph shows only a single victim should vote for the
"single-victim substitute," but those who believe the photo shows two
victims should vote for the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. The Wisconsin
legislature enacted an unborn victims law in 1998, partly in response to
this case.
--
Stephanie Alberts, of South Charleston, West Virginia, whose daughter
Christina Renee Alberts and unborn granddaughter Ashley Nichole (ninth
month) were killed together in a home-robbery execution in Kanawha County,
West Virginia, on December 10, 1998. [WARNING: Click
here to see a photo that was taken at
their funeral. Stephanie Alberts wishes this photo to be viewed by anyone
who wants to understand why she believes this crime had two victims.] West
Virginia does not have a fetal homicide law, so Ashley was not recognized as
a victim. This month, the West Virginia
legislature
passed a fetal
homicide bill (S. 566) by margins of 83-16 and 34-0, but Governor Bob Wise
(D) vetoed the bill on March 24.
--
Cynthia Warner, of Hopkins, Minnesota, whose
daughter Heather Fliegelman and unborn grandson Jonah (ninth month) were
killed on January 4, 2003, in Bangor, Maine. Heather's husband, Roscoe B.
Sargent, stabbed Heather at least 47 times, for which he was convicted of
murder on March 19, 2004. Because Maine does not have an unborn victims
law,
killing Jonah was not itself a crime. However, Sargent also killed the
four family cats, and each feline death could have been punished by one year
of incarceration under Maine law. [WARNING: Click
here to view a photo taken at Jonah's
autopsy. Cynthia Warner wishes this photo to be viewed by anyone who wants
to understand why she believes this crime had two victims.] Heather
Fliegelman's aunt, Kristen Eckmann of Bangor, is also in Washington to urge
enactment of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.
ABOUT THE FEINSTEIN SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT
According to
three
national public opinion polls, about 80% of the public agrees that a
crime like the killing of Laci and Conner Peterson has two victims and
should be charged as two homicides. A Newsweek poll found specifically that
56% of the public believes this two-victim protection should extend
throughout pregnancy.
However, opponents of the bill are backing the
Feinstein Substitute Amendment, which would codify the doctrine that a
federal crime of this type has only a single victim -- the pregnant woman --
a position supported by only 7 to 10% of the public in the three polls
cited. Supporters of the Feinstein Substitute say that the amendment is
intended to allow more severe sentences to be imposed when a federal crime
causes "interruption of the normal course of a pregnancy," but because of
the way the amendment was drafted, it would not accomplish even that stated
goal, and in fact would be entirely useless to prosecutors. The multiple
fatal flaws of the Feinstein Substitute are explained in detail in
an
analysis released by NRLC on March 16. On March 24, the
U.S. Department of Justice sent an analysis to Senator Mike DeWine
(R-Ohio), the prime Senate sponsor of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act,
that drew similar conclusions.
Sharon Rocha, whose daughter Laci Peterson and unborn grandson Conner
Peterson were killed in California in December 2002, condemned the Feinstein
Substitute in a February 26 statement, saying: "Senator Feinstein has a
bill that says that crimes like the murder of Laci and Conner have only one
victim. But 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. I call upon
Senators Feinstein and Boxer to recognize that reality, and support Laci and
Conner's Law." Ms. Rocha also spoke sharply regarding the long obstruction
of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act by many Senate Democrats.
Ms. Rocha's
statement is posted in HTML text and MP3 audio formats on the NRLC
website.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
-- NRLC has created
the most extensive resource on the Internet concerning unborn victims of
violence and fetal homicide laws.
-- On February 5, National Review Online posted
an
article by NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson that is a good
summary of the main points in dispute regarding the Unborn Victims of
Violence Act.
--
Twenty-nine (29) states allow a homicide charge to be brought when an
"unborn child" or "fetus" is injured or killed during commission of a crime
-- 16 throughout prenatal development, and 13 for some defined part of
pregnancy. The Virginia and West Virginia legislatures have overwhelmingly
passed complete-pregnancy bills within the past month. The Virginia bill
has not yet been acted on by Governor Mark Warner (D). In West Virginia,
Governor Bob Wise (D) vetoed the bill on March 24.
-- Across the nation, federal and state courts
have
rejected every legal challenge to the state fetal homicide laws,
consistently ruling that they do NOT conflict with Roe v. Wade.
--
Prominent pro-Roe v. Wade legal experts have in recent months declared
that fetal homicide laws do not conflict with Roe -- among them, Prof.
Walter Dellinger at Duke Law School, who once co-chaired a national
commission to defend Roe and who later served as President Clinton's chief
legal advisor on constitutional issues.
-- The recently released
official
report of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on H.R. 1997 is a good
discussion of how the bill and state fetal homicide laws operate.
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