New York Times
April 25, 2001
Reproductive Rights Under Attack


Congressional opponents of abortion have no appetite for a direct and politically unpopular assault on Roe v. Wade. So they are pursuing other legislative strategies that would undermine women's reproductive freedom. One of the most deceptive of these schemes is the benign-sounding Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which is expected to come up for a vote in the House this week.

Packaged as a crime-fighting measure unrelated to abortion, the bill is actually aimed at fulfilling a longtime goal of the right-to-life movement.

The goal is to enshrine in law the concept of "fetal rights," equal to but separate and distinct from the rights of pregnant women. In essence, the bill would elevate the status of a fetus, embryo or other so- called "unborn child" to that of a "person" by amending the Federal criminal code to add a separate offense for causing death or bodily injury to a "child" who is "in utero." The penalty would be equal to that imposed for injuring the woman herself and would apply from the earliest stage of gestation, whether or not the perpetrator knew of the pregnancy.

The vote this week represents a serious test. An identical bill passed the House last year by a 254-to- 172 vote, and its present sponsors are plainly hoping the arrival of a new anti-choice administration will help gain passage this time around in the Senate.

Violence against women that results in compromising a pregnancy is a terrible crime. It may well deserve stiffer penalties, which some states have already imposed. But the bill's sponsors are more interested in furthering a political agenda than in preventing and punishing criminal conduct. Lawmakers who care for Roe v. Wade have no business voting for this disingenuous legislation.