[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2377-2378]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             SUPPORTING THE UNBORN VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE ACT

  (Mr. RYUN of Kansas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. RYUN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, after being brutally beaten and 
losing her unborn child in the process, Tracy Marciniak was told that 
her attackers would not be held accountable for her child's death. 
Under current Federal law, the only crime committed was assault. There 
was no acknowledgment for a grieving mother.
  When Laci Peterson was found, she was not alone. The small body of 
her son Conner was with her. Laci's parents not only lost their 
daughter, but

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their grandson as well. Logic tells us that two bodies means that 
murder should be charged for two victims.
  Thankfully, 29 States, including California, have enacted unborn 
victims laws to adequately punish the perpetrators of these heinous 
crimes. Because of this, the killer of Laci and Conner Peterson will 
not go unaccounted for for two murders.
  It is time for the United States Congress to protect unborn victims 
of Federal crimes. It our responsibility to recognize the killing of a 
pregnant woman as an act that ends two lives and assign punishment 
accordingly.
  The Unborn Victims of Violence Act would not only provide long 
overdue protection to unborn victims, but also help ensure justice and 
closure for the families. I urge Members to join me in seeking justice 
for women and their unborn children and the families they leave behind. 
I urge members to vote for the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.

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