[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 134 (Wednesday, October 6, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2044-E2045]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 UNBORN VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE ACT OF 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 30, 1999

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had title consideration the bill (H.R. 2436) to 
     amend title 18, United States Code, and the Uniform Code of 
     Military Justice to protect unborn children from assault and 
     murder, and for other purposes:

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Chairman, I wish to express my opposition to H.R. 
2436. Since the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, Congress 
has slowly passed legislation that has eroded women's reproductive 
choices. This is a personal and private decision that should be made by 
a woman, her family, her physician, and her beliefs, not subjected to 
increasing levels of government interference.
  Rather than being merely a good faith effort to protect pregnant 
mothers from violence, the ``Unborn Victims of Violence Act'' is 
actually a back door attempt to interject government into individuals' 
private lives. Harsh penalties already exist in thirty-eight states for 
crimes against pregnant women that result in the injury or death of her 
fetus.
  The overwhelming majority of crimes against pregnant women that cause 
injury to her fetus occur in cases of domestic abuse or drunk driving 
accidents, instances that are

[[Page E2045]]

prosecutable under currently existing state laws. H.R. 2436 would do 
nothing to add to the existing protections against these serious and 
prevalent crimes. Nearly one in every three adult women experience at 
least one physical assault by their partner during adulthood and drunk 
driving accidents continue to result in substantial loss of life in 
every city across the nation. Instead of focusing on purely political 
measures aimed at the erosion of a women's reproductive freedom, we 
should be enacting more appropriate penalties, passing measures to 
promote protection from violence, and increasing assistance to women in 
life threatening domestic situations.
  If the sponsors of this bill truly cared about addressing violence 
against women, particularly pregnant women, they would have voted in 
support of the Lofgren Amendment that enacts strict punishments for 
crimes that result in the injury or death of the fetus without the 
inclusion of constitutionally questionable language. Or we would be 
considering the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act that 
has proven to help victims of domestic violence. Clearly H.R. 2436 is 
more about politics and less about the protection of a woman or her 
fetus.

                          ____________________