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The Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-212) is a United States law which defines a violent attack on a pregnant women as two distinct crimes: one against the woman herself, and the other against her fetus. The law is codified in two sections of the United States Code: Title 18, Chapter 1 (Crimes), §1841 (18 USC 1841) and Title 10, Chapter 22 (Uniform Code of Military Justice) §919a (Article 119a). The Act applies only to offenses over which the United States government has jurisdiction, namely crimes committed on Federal properties, against certain Federal officials and employees, and by members of the military. Because of principles of federalism embodied in the United States Constitution, Federal criminal law does not apply to crimes prosecuted by the individual states. The legislation was both hailed and vilified by various legal observers who interpreted the measure as a step toward granting legal personhood to human fetuses, even though the bill explicitly contained a provision excepting abortion, stating that the bill would not "be construed to permit the prosecution" "of any person for conduct relating to an abortion for which the consent of the pregnant woman, or a person authorized by law to act on her behalf", "of any person for any medical treatment of the pregnant woman or her unborn child" or "of any woman with respect to her unborn child". It is commonly known as Laci and Conner's Law after the mother and fetus whose death and resultant termination were the major inspiration for the law (see Scott Peterson and Laci Peterson). The Act may not have been necessary. Federal cases involving death or injury to a fetus are rare: the case of first impression was US v. Spencer, 839 F.2d 1341 (9th Cir. 1988), and the murder conviction was upheld. In this case, the child was born alive and died shortly afterwards; therefore there was no doubt that the decedent was once a living person under the law. If the fetus had died in utero, it is not certain that the same result would have obtained. The Act was introduced into the House of Representatives as H.R. 1997 by Rep. Melissa Hart of Pennsylvania on May 7, 2003. It was ultimately co-sponsored by 136 other members of the House before it passed by a vote of 254 in favor to 163 against on February 26, 2004. After several amendments were rejected, it was passed in the Senate by a vote of 61-38 on March 25, 2004. It was signed into law by President Bush in the East Room of the White House on April 1, 2004. At the signing ceremony, the President was joined on stage by families of pregnant women who had been victims of violence, including Laci Peterson's mother, Sharon Rocha. During his remarks at the ceremony, Bush said, "Any time an expectant mother is a victim of violence, two lives are in the balance, each deserving protection, and each deserving justice. If the crime is murder and the unborn child's life ends, justice demands a full accounting under the law." Senator John Kerry, his main opponent in the 2004 Presidential election, voted against the bill, saying, "I have serious concerns about this legislation because the law cannot simultaneously provide that a fetus is a human being and protect the right of the mother to choose to terminate her pregnancy."
Text of the Law The operative portion of the law, now codified as Title 18, Section 1841 of the United States Code, reads as follows: Sec. 1841. Protection of unborn children (a)(1) Whoever engages in conduct that violates any of the provisions of law listed in subsection (b) and thereby causes the death of, or bodily injury (as defined in section 1365) to, a child, who is in utero at the time the conduct takes place, is guilty of a separate offense under this section. (2)(A) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the punishment for that separate offense is the same as the punishment provided under Federal law for that conduct had that injury or death occurred to the unborn child's mother. 2(B) An offense under this section does not require proof that-- (i) the person engaging in the conduct had knowledge or should have had knowledge that the victim of the underlying offense was pregnant; or (ii) the defendant intended to cause the death of, or bodily injury to, the unborn child. 2(C) If the person engaging in the conduct thereby intentionally kills or attempts to kill the unborn child, that person shall instead of being punished under subparagraph (A), be punished as provided under sections 1111, 1112, and 1113 of this title for intentionally killing or attempting to kill a human being." Subsection (b) is a lengthy listing, by section, intended to include every provision of Title 18 that defines a criminal assault. The provision amending the Uniform Code of Military Justice is identical, except for section numbers and other enacting words. | ||||||||
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