"We must continue to build a culture of life in this country, a compassionate society in which every child is born into a loving family and protected by law."
President George W. Bush, following House passage of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.
It was one of those days that we simultaneously celebrate and caution ourselves that we’re only halfway there. Turning aside a mischievous and misleading alternative, the House overwhelmingly passed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act yesterday 254-163.
President George W. Bush applauded the House action, saying, “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.” Mr. Bush “urge[d] the Senate to pass this bill so that I can sign it into law.”
It’ll be much tougher sledding in the Senate which has never voted on the issue of fetal homicide. (The House passed identical bills in 1999 and 2001.) Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tn.) has already pressed for action on the bill in the Senate, but thus far has been stymied by a set of procedural obstacles erected by Democratic senators.
There was plenty of emotion as legislators heatedly debated “Laci and Conner’s Law,” a measure that would recognize as a legal victim any "child in utero" who is injured or killed during the commission of a federal crime of violence. 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."
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)hosted a Capitol Hill press conference at which he played an audio-taped statement from Sharon Rocha, whose daughter Laci and unborn grandson Conner were murdered in a nationally publicized crime in California. Rocha sharply rebuked Senate Democrats for obstructing the bill, including her own two senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein. She called on senators who had previously not supported the bill, including Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Senator John Edwards (D-NC), to reconsider their positions.
"If Laci and Conner's Law is not enacted this year, I will keep fighting for it," Rocha promised. "I will not hesitate to explain the issue to their voters. To vote against Laci and Conner's Law, or to obstruct it, is indefensible." Democratic Presidential frontrunner Sen. Kerry sent a letter opposing the law in 2003.
On Thursday a phony "single-victim substitute" was defeated 229-186. The substitute would increase penalties for a violent federal crime if it causes "interruption" of a pregnancy -- but without recognizing an unborn victim.
Contrary to what you'd believe were you to listen to pro-abortion Members of Congress and outside advocacy groups, the bill explicitly exempts abortion or any act of a woman affecting her own unborn child. What it does do is something with which upwards of 80% of the American people agree: make it law that when a criminal murders a pregnant woman and kills her unborn child, two lives have been taken.
Addressing this instance of double murder is hardly breaking new legal ground. Twenty-nine states already have laws that allow separate homicide charges for unlawful killing of an "unborn child" or "fetus," at least in some circumstances.
When the Unborn Victims of Violence Act reaches the Senate, Sen. Feinstein will offer a similar substitute proposal. NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson explained the "logic" of the alternative: "Under the single-victim bill, if the mother survives the attack but loses her baby, federal authorities would have to tell her that the law says nobody really died."
There were many encouraging speeches and congratulations. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert said, "Today the House took an important step to protect unborn children and their mothers. Today, we passed legislation that states once and for all that if you harm or kill a pregnant woman, you can get prosecuted for harming both the child and the mother."
Hastert emphasized, "Some may seek to make this into an abortion issue. This is not an abortion issue. It is a crime issue." He added,"Too many women are being victimized by criminals, and the current law does not reflect the reality that when a criminal harms the woman, that criminal is also harming the unborn child."
During debate over the bill, Congressman Mike Pence (R-In.) said, "This is not a debate about life; about the most contentious issue of our time and our culture. This is about justice, this is about compassion, and this is about this Congress standing for what justice demands."
Pro-life champion Henry Hyde (R-Il.) bemoaned the single-victim substitute measure offered by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Ca.). "It dehumanizes, it desensitizes, it reduces in standing and status the unborn, who needs our protection more than anything in the world because they are alone and defenseless," Hyde told House members.
Pro-abortionists fear more than anything else the recognition of the obvious. That is why the debate so often assumes an almost surreal quality.
We're supposed to accept that there is a disagreement about something as indisputable as the law of gravity: that the unborn is one of us. To "agree to disagree" in these circumstances is to cede the high moral ground.
Stay tuned as the debate moves to the Senate. The House has done its part, yet again. We can hope that commonsense makes a comeback in the Senate.
"We must continue to build a culture of life in this country, a compassionate society in which every child is born into a loving family and protected by law."
This is the problem behind Statism. Trying to create culture through force can only lead to a Culture of Violence.
"We must continue to build a culture of life in this country, a compassionate society in which every child is born into a loving family and protected by law."