Vatican official welcomes U.S. Unborn Victims of Violence Act

Published: 2004-04-05

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The new U.S. Unborn Victims of Violence Act is a "juridically and ethically" important law that finally recognizes the fact that a fetus is a human being, said Bishop Elio Sgreccia, vice president of the Pontifical Academy for Life. "I would say this is a law that has come a bit late," Bishop Sgreccia told Vatican Radio April 2, the day after President George W. Bush signed the law recognizing an unborn child as the second victim when a violent federal crime is perpetrated against a pregnant woman. Bishop Sgreccia said that until the new measure was enacted U.S. law gave so much emphasis to a "woman's freedom" when pregnant that no room was left to offer any legal recognition of the life of a fetus. The new law, he said, recognizes "the other priority principle, which is that the fetus represents a human being who has juridical relevance and who must be respected as a human being."

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