"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." President George W. Bush
"The Senate cleared the way for passage with a 50-49 vote to defeat an amendment, backed by opponents of the bill, that would have increased penalties but maintained that an attack on a pregnant woman was a single victim crime. Sen. John Kerry, D Mass., President Bush's opponent this fall, interrupted his campaign schedule to vote yes on the one victim amendment. He voted no on final passage." Associated Press
"Cynthia Warner said her daughter, Heather Fliegelman, was stabbed at least 47 times in her eighth month of pregnancy. Fliegelman's husband was convicted of her murder. He could have faced four additional years in jail for killing the family cats under Maine law, but he faced no extra charges for the death of the fetus, Warner said." Boston Globe
"The Senate bill would specifically exclude prosecution of legally performed abortions -- a fact supporters cite in arguing that the bill would not undermine the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision affirming a woman's right to end a pregnancy. 'The criminals who commit these crimes are not committing abortions,' said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee. 'They are depriving these unborn children of the right to life. It's a separate issue related to the right to life.'" Associated Press
"Civilized society has an obligation to punish injustice, no matter the size, strength, or political inconvenience of its victim. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act is a matter of common sense and common decency." House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
One other quotation I could have used that dealt with Senate passage yesterday of Laci and Conner's Law came from Reuters news service: "The U.S. Senate, after an emotional debate, easily passed legislation on Thursday to make it a federal crime to harm or kill an "unborn child..."
The writer was alluding to the lopsided 61-38 vote on final passage. But there was nothing whatsoever easy about the struggle in the Senate.
The real test came on an amendment offered by pro-abortion Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.). Feinstein's proposal would have codified 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. Had it passed, it would have turned the plain intent of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act on its head.
That white-knuckle vote saw the Feinstein amendment defeated 50-49. It was about as dramatic a vote as I have experienced in my 22 years at National Right to Life.
John Kerry at least was consistent: he voted for the Feinstein amendment and against the act, sponsored by Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio). "Apparently, John Kerry believes that if a criminal commits a federal crime that injures a pregnant woman and kills her unborn son or daughter, prosecutors should tell the grieving mother that she did not really lose a baby," said NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson.
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) tried to have it both ways. Specter, up for re-election this fall, did NARAL's and Planned Parenthood's bidding in supporting the amendment to eviscerate the law. Then in a shameless display of political expediency, he voted for final passage--on the side of a law that several polls show is supported by 80% of the American public.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, facing a close election in pro-life South Dakota, did likewise. He voted for the gutting Feinstein amendment and then, once the bill was sure to pass, voted in favor.
There will be, of course, very thorough, very complete coverage of Laci and Conner's Law in the April edition of National Right to Life News. (If you are not a subscriber, you are missing an invaluable resource. Call 202-626-8828 today.)
Thus I'll only make three additional points here.
#1. This bill is about assailants who attack pregnant women and who not only injury or kill the mother, but injure or kill her unborn child. That the usual suspects turned this into a referendum on abortion demonstrates that they don't understand these are separate issues in the law, or choose to pretend not to grasp this.
After all, 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, is among prominent pro-Roe v. Wade legal authorities who have in recent months declared that fetal homicide laws do not conflict with Roe. This is something you will seldom read in the so-called "mainstream press."
Even some of those who have followed the Supreme Court's rulings for these many years might not know or remember that in its 1989 "Webster" decision the Court allowed to stand a part of a Missouri statute that stipulated that "the life of each human being begins at conception," and that the "unborn child" has the rights of others under all state laws (including criminal laws). Commonsensically (for once) the Supreme Court observing that this law could be constitutionally applied outside the realm of abortion.
#2. This law took five years to pass. It didn't spring fully grown like Minerva from the head of Zeus. It has a history and a lineage. For example, 29 states already have what are often called "fetal homicide" laws. Legal challenges to them have been uniformly unsuccessful.
What the new law would do, as NRLC's Johnson explained, is "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."
#3. It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of the testimony given by members of families who have lost loved ones--born and unborn--to violent crimes. Most people know about Laci Peterson and her unborn son Conner, who were murdered in California in December 2002. Their deaths are rightly being prosecuted as a double homicide.
But most people don't know that their deaths, tragically, are not unique. The Boston Globe reported this morning that, "Carol Lyons, whose 18-year-old pregnant daughter was killed in Kentucky in January, told reporters:'I know my grandbaby was real. I saw the ultrasound. I saw his heart beat.'"
And, then there is Heather Fliegelman, mentioned at the beginning of this edition, who was stabbed at least 47 times in her eighth month of pregnancy.
Their courage, resolution, and determination is remarkable.
Passage of Laci and Conner's law comes only three months after President Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. Both were NRLC priorities. Without sounding too immodest, they became law in large part because of NRLC and the pressure exerted on lawmakers by members of NRLC state affiliates.
There are other pro-life laws in the pipeline. With your help, someday they, too, will be enacted.
There is a reason we are the largest and most influential single-issue pro-life organization on the face of the planet. NRLC knows what it is doing.
Please remember that the next time someone suggests otherwise.
"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."