Summary
This legislation would prohibit the assault or homicide of an unborn child during the commission of a crime against the mother. (A.2034 Benjamin)

Conference Position
The Catholic Conference supports this measure and seeks its enactment into law.

Rationale
The 2003 California murders of Laci Peterson and her unborn son Conner put the media spotlight on crimes against pregnant women and their unborn children like never before. Domestic violence against pregnant women and the babies they love is an all-too-common occurrence. In April 2003, District attorneys in the State of California were able to bring two charges of murder against Scott Peterson, Laci’s husband, because California has an “Unborn Victims of Violence” law.

Tragically, New York State does not. Under New York's outdated Penal Law, one has to be “born and alive” in order to be the victim of assault or homicide. Even viable unborn children don't qualify as “persons” under the law (see Section 125.05 Penal Law). The need for correction of the law can be plainly seen by continuous New York media accounts of brutal violence against pregnant women and their unborn children.

In September 2007, Barbara Santos, nine months pregnant, was stabbed to death at a homeless shelter in North Bay Shore. Efforts by doctors to save her unborn son, Nathaniel, were unsuccessful, yet her attacker was only charged with Santos’ first-degree manslaughter; no charges were brought for the death of the child.
In June 2006, a pregnant high school junior from Ramapo was beaten to death with a baseball bat by the 23 year old father of her baby. He was convicted of her murder but faced no charges for the death of the child.
In April 2005, a 33-year old pregnant Brooklyn woman, just days away from her delivery date, was found dead of a gunshot wound to the head. Her former boyfriend was charged with second-degree murder in her death, but no charges can be brought for the death of her unborn son. In February 2005, a four-months-pregnant Long Island woman was shot and killed and stuffed in a car trunk by a family member. That relative was charged with murder and gun possession, but not with the death of the baby.

In June 2003, a young mother in the Bronx, eight months pregnant with twin boys, was repeatedly punched and kicked in the stomach. Her attacker may be charged with assault, but no charges can be brought for the deaths of the children. In March 2003, a Buffalo mother and her unborn son, already named Zachary, were subjected to a house explosion intentionally caused by the woman’s married boyfriend. The attacker was charged with attempted murder of the mother, but not of the unborn son. The list of New York State cases is long.

Within the past 15 years, a medical and scientific revolution has taken place in obstetrics and fetology. Today, three and four dimensional ultrasounds, fetal heart monitoring, and other advances leave no doubt that the unborn child is the “second patient.” The “born alive rule” was a product of available medical knowledge during the 16th and 17th centuries. It should be eliminated.

Thirty-five states have now enacted an Unborn Victims of Violence law, and no fetal homicide statute has ever been successfully challenged in court. New York’s State Senate has passed this legislation by a 2-to-1 margin, but the bill has never been voted upon by the Assembly.

On April 1, 2004 President George W. Bush signed into law a federal Unborn Victims of Violence Act, also called Laci and Connor's Law in memory of the murders of Laci Peterson and her unborn child, Connor. The federal law only applies to federal crimes or crimes committed on federal property. As a consequence, the need continues for an Unborn Victims of Violence Act in New York State to cover non-federal crimes committed in New York State.

This legislation has nothing to do with abortion and, in fact, specifically excludes abortion from the list of acts to which it would apply. The bill applies solely to wrongful acts of outside parties who harm or kill an unborn child, often a child who is very much wanted by the mother. While Roe v. Wade currently protects a woman’s right of “choice,” it does not protect, much less confer on an assailant, a third-party right to destroy an unborn child.

Large majorities of the American public support this kind of legislation. According to a Newsweek poll released on June 1, 2003, 84% of Americans believe the killing of an unborn child should be recognized as a homicide. In addition, a Fox News poll of the same year revealed that 84% of the American public favored a double murder homicide charge in the Peterson case, noted above.