Fetal Homicide Laws Are a Problem for Pro-Choicers

A recent murder in Colorado has been shaking up the state. Dynel Lane lured a woman who was seven months pregnant to her home and cut her daughter, Aurora, out of her womb. Aurora didn’t survive.

Because Colorado law didn’t allow for prosecuting Lane for murder, a fetal homicide bill has been proposed. As with California’s fetal homicide law (yes, even California has one!), the bill excludes any kind of abortion:

Under the new bill, prosecutors would be allowed to pursue murder and assault charges in cases involving “an unborn child at every stage of gestation from conception until live birth.”

The language said it wouldn’t apply to acts committed by the mother, medical procedures or legally prescribed medication.

Even though the bill specifically excludes deaths caused by the mother’s choice, the pro-choice politicians are objecting to it. They don’t want to set a legal precedent by calling an unborn human being a “person,” even if the cases it applies to are strictly limited. This fear is understandable. In order to protect abortion, they can’t allow a logical foot in the door. Once you admit that a fetus can be “murdered,” you raise questions that are difficult for pro-choicers to answer.

– See more at: http://str.typepad.com/weblog/#sthash.lwzTzupS.dpuf