House passes Unborn Victims of Violence Act

Published: 2004-02-27

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S. bishops' pro-life spokeswoman called House passage of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act Feb. 26 "a vote for justice for women and their children." Under the measure, approved in a 254-163 vote, those who injure or kill a pregnant woman and her unborn child could be charged with two separate crimes by federal prosecutors. "Abortion activists recoil from any acknowledgment of a child's existence before birth," said Cathy Cleaver Ruse, director of planning and information for the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. "But their arguments are as ridiculous as they are offensive," she said in a statement. "This legislation explicitly exempts abortion." The bill was passed after the House rejected an alternative measure that would have increased penalties for those who attacked a pregnant woman but would not have recognized her unborn child as a victim of the attack as well.

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