The Senate voted 61-38 Thursday to make harming a fetus during commission of a violent federal crime a separate offense. Some Republican lawmakers lauded the passage for expanding the legal rights of the unborn. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tennessee) said the bill was "powerful because this act is about simple humanity, about simple reality." But while the bill specifically excludes prosecution of legally performed abortions, abortion-rights advocates worried it would undermine Roe v. Wade. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) said that by defining when life begins, the legislation marks "the first step in removing a woman's right to choice," adding that the bill might chill embryonic stem cell research. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act will go to President Bush for his signature.
Fetuses Are Victims, Too
Fetuses Are Victims, Too
