It was a victory today for pro-life advocates who have been pushing for the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which recognizes a fetus as separate life and person from the mother. Yesterday, President George Bush signed the bill that had passed overwhelmingly in the U.S. Senate on March 25.
"As of today, the law of our nation will acknowledge the plain fact that crimes of violence against a pregnant woman often have two victims. Therefore, in those cases, there are two offenses to be punished," said Bush upon signing the bill in front of witnesses such as Sharon Rocha who has played a leading role in the passing of the legislation after her daughter and her unborn grandson were killed by her daughter’s wife, Scott Peterson. He faced charges for double homicide in the case for the death of Laci and Conner.
Under the Act an “unborn child” is defined as “a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.”
"We are now one giant step closer to rebuilding a culture of life, where every child - born and unborn - is given the protections they so clearly deserve,” said Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins.
The bill is powerful, because the Act is about simple humanity, said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN). Frist supported the bill alongside with Sens. Mike DeWine (R-OH), Sam Brownback (R-KS).
Twenty-nine states have passed the unborn victims laws. More than 80% of Americans favored the passage of the federal 'Unborn Victims' bill, according to FRC.
Dr. James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family, said the passage of the federal partial-birth abortion ban and the Unborn Victims bill and has made “this a triumphant year for every American who believes all life is precious.”
