«I applaud the Senate for passing the Unborn Victims of Violence Act today by a strong bipartisan vote,» he said in a statement released by the White House on Thursday. «We must continue to build a culture of life in our country, a compassionate society in which every child is welcomed in life and protected by law.»
«Pregnant women who have been harmed by violence, and their families, know that there are two victims — the mother and the unborn child — and both victims should be protected by federal law,» the president said.
The Senate approved the legislation by a vote of 61 to 38. The act, which the U.S. House of Representatives has already approved, makes it a separate federal offense to cause the death of or injury to a child in the womb in the course of committing any one of 68 existing federal crimes now currently on the books.
Senator John Kerry, the Democrats’ probable presidential nominee in the general election, voted against the bill.
