[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 23348]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     UNBORN VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE ACT

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, today this House will consider a bill 
that will be critical to families and particularly to the women of our 
country. H.R. 2436, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, will recognize 
an unborn child who is injured or killed while in the mother's womb as 
a victim of a Federal crime.

  Already, 24 States in our Nation have implemented laws that 
explicitly recognize injured, unborn children as victims of criminal 
acts.

                              {time}  1030

  Under this bill, the penalty for the harm committed against an unborn 
baby would be the same as the penalty for the harm committed against 
the mother.

  As responsible legislators, we must ensure that criminals be held 
accountable for their violent crimes that result in death or injury. 
This should apply regardless of who the victim is, whether it be the 
mother or the unborn child.

  I hope that today our colleagues will honor the many women who have 
lost babies due to a crime. I hope that they will acknowledge the 
suffering that these women have endured because of senseless crimes and 
remember that they will never receive justice unless this legislation 
is not enacted.

  This afternoon, I hope that our colleagues vote ``yes'' on the Unborn 
Victims of Violence Act.

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