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Press Release Archive
April 26, 2001
Akin Votes for Unborn Victims of Violence Act
House passes measure that recognizes unborn fetuses as potential victims of murder and other violent crimes
Washington, D.C.- Congressman Akin voted for the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which passed the House today by a vote of 252 to 172. The bill recognizes an unborn child as a potential victim of already existing federal crimes. The act establishes that a criminal can be held accountable for injuring or killing an unborn child while attacking a pregnant woman.
Akin, a cosponsor of the bill, spoke in favor of the act on the House floor. After its passage, Akin issued the following statement:
“Under current law, a criminal who injures or kills a woman’s unborn child in a federal crime is only guilty of an offense against the mother. He cannot be held accountable for a separate crime against the child. In effect, the law treats the unborn child as if she were merely tissue in the mother’s body. This is unjust. A criminal who injures the unborn does not only injure the woman. He injures a separate human being.
“I hope that the Senate will speedily pass this bill, and that the President will sign it into law."
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