A law signed by President George W. Bush yesterday has abortion activists up in arms, calling it another attempt to undermine a woman's right to choose.
The Unborn Victims of Violence Act, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, allows for two charges - one for the mother and one for the child - in federal cases of abuse or murder of pregnant women.
The law applies to a fetus at any stage of development after conception, said Amanda Flaig, DeWine's spokeswoman. Neither the woman nor the abuser must know she is pregnant to be charged with a crime against the fetus.
Excluded from the law is anything a woman does to herself, including abortions, the use of drugs or alcohol and any medical treatments that could hurt the fetus, Flaig said.
However, the law does not change existing state laws, Flaig said. Twenty-nine states - including Ohio - have similar two count laws on their books already.
Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, which stands for National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, said the law was part of an ongoing agenda to overturn Roe v. Wade, a 1973 Supreme Court case that legalized abortion, and does nothing to protect women from domestic violence.
Copeland said an amendment to DeWine's bill proposed by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., had the same punishment for harming a pregnant woman and her fetus but left out any definition of the legal status of the fetus.
This is part of a legal strategy to create legal personhood
Copeland said. It's sad and inappropriate and trumps a woman's interest in ending her pregnancy.
