Although proponents claim that this bill is intended merely to punish violent offenders, it is in reality a dangerous attempt to separate a woman from her fetus in the eyes of the law. Such separation is the first step toward eroding a woman's right to determine the fate of her own pregnancy and to direct the course of her own health care. It is no accident that anti-choice lawmakers have rejected alternative proposals that would appropriately punish violence against pregnant women without undermining reproductive freedom.

The bill entitled the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act," was drafted with the assistance of the National Right to Life Committee. After it is signed by the President, it will be the first federal law to recognize a fetus at any stage of development, from conception forward, as an independent "victim" of a crime with legal rights distinct from the woman who has been harmed by a violent criminal act. 

Find out how your Senator voted and then ""Thank or Spank"" them!  

 The sponsors of this legislation do not aim to protect women.
Proponents of this legislation have rejected approaches that would have punished violence against women -- including violence that causes the loss of a pregnancy -- without creating new fetal rights. It is no accident that anti-choice groups have drafted and circulated similar legislation all across the country. The proponents of this bill have built their careers around banning abortion. This bill is part of that agenda.

 Increased penalties under existing laws are a better way to punish criminal acts that harm pregnant women.
Instead of creating a separate offense, the law should enhance the penalty when a criminal act results in harm not only to a pregnant woman, but also to her pregnancy. Only then will the legislation focus the criminal law where it should be: on the particularly devastating loss or injury to the woman that occurs when her pregnancy is compromised.

 The "Unborn Victims of Violence Act" is inappropriate and dangerous.
A criminal act that causes a miscarriage or interrupts normal fetal development is a tragedy that is worthy of redress. But this bill is an inappropriate method of punishing such violence because it seeks to endow the fetus with legal rights distinct from the woman who has been injured. This unprecedented elevation of the status of a fetus in federal law erodes the very foundation of the right to choose abortion.

TAKE ACTION!