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Federal Legislation Update
Since NOW first reported on reproductive health legislation across the United States, there have been many developments. Read about some of the most prominent news items below.
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In federal legislation, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (also referred to as "Laci and Conner's Law") became public law on April 1, 2004. The law makes it a separate offense to cause the death or injury of an "unborn child" or fetus when a pregnant woman is attacked.
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission supported this new measure, saying, "This is a significant step forward in reasserting, for the unborn, the legal rights of all human beings. It is another reminder we are slowly but surely winning the battle for the hearts and minds of the American public when it comes to the personhood of unborn human beings."
Pro-choice groups, however, worry that granting embryos and fetuses full human rights may have far-reaching impact. A statement from the organization People for the American Way voiced this discontent: "President Bush signed into law a bill that ostensibly upholds the noble goal of protecting pregnant women from violence, yet tactically undermines the foundation of Roe v. Wade." In addition, some fear the law may be used to prosecute pregnant women for drug or alcohol abuse.
- In November, President Bush signed the so-called "Partial Birth" Abortion Ban Act, making it the only federal ban on an abortion procedure since 1973 when Roe v. Wade became law.
The ban is now being challenged in courts in New York, California and Nebraska. Government lawyers say the Act prohibits an "inhumane and gruesome procedure" that causes pain to the fetus and is never necessary to protect the health of a woman because there are proven and safe alternatives. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) issued a statement arguing otherwise: "Doctors and leading medical organizations including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Public Health Association, and the American College of Nurse Practitioners oppose this ban, recognizing that it inappropriately interferes with medical decision-making by forcing doctors to stop using procedures they believe are safest and best for their patients."
Due to the current appeals, the partial-birth law is blocked from enforcement by a federal court injunction.
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