NEWS RELEASE
January 23, 2019
Contact: Senator Lynn Hutchings
Lynn.Hutchings@wyoleg.gov
(307) 316-0858
‘Unborn Victims of Violence Act’ Ensures Justice for the Unborn
Legislation would make criminal offenses killing an unborn child a crime
Legislation would make criminal offenses killing an unborn child a crime
Cheyenne, Wyo. – Laramie County Senator Lynn Hutchings (SD-05) introduced SF0128, Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which would make criminal offenses which resulted in the killing of an unborn child, a crime.
“This bill is about providing justice to mothers, fathers and other family members who are devastated by the loss of an unborn child during the commission of a crime,” said Senator Hutchings. “My aim is to be proactive in reforming our criminal justice statutes, instead of being reactive when a crime such as this happens again in Wyoming
In response to concerns about this bill limiting abortion, Senator Hutchings stated, “I want to create a ‘wall of separation’ between these two issues by identifying the mother who wants to bring her pregnancy to term, but loses the child during a crime, and those women who do not want to bring their pregnancy to term.
A study which appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association and data from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene listed murder as the number one cause of death for pregnant women in the United States and Maryland, respectively. Currently, 39 states have some form of coverage in statute for unborn victims of violence. The federal Unborn Victims of Violence Act passed in 2004 applies in cases of federal or military crimes. SF0128 would include Wyoming among the majority of states that have this law in their statutes.
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