The Senate is expected to vote on the Unborn Victims of Violence Act as early as next week.
«When a pregnant woman is assaulted or killed, and her unborn child is harmed or killed as a result, the crime has two victims — the woman and her child,» said Cardinal Keeler, who chairs the U.S. bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities.
«Without this new law, when a pregnant woman is herself the victim of a federal crime, any resulting injury to her unborn child — harm to which the woman obviously has not consented — goes unpunished,» the cardinal said.
Most states recognize and redress prenatal injury or death resulting from violence inflicted upon a pregnant woman. The Senate bill explicitly excludes abortion.
«It is disappointing that some insist the bill should be defeated to somehow preserve a ‘right’ to abortion,» Cardinal Keeler noted. «This bill simply ensures that both mother and child are protected from violent assault and murder.»
The House of Representatives passed the bill last month by a 254-163 vote.
