CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Judges could hand out stiffer sentences when a fetus dies in a homicide under a bill passed Thursday by the New Hampshire House.
The House voted 243-42 to send the bill to the Senate.
Supporters argued the stricter penalties should be limited to cases where the mother dies, but critics said the fetus’ death should be a crime if the mother lives.
State Rep. Leon Rideout filed the bill after his daughter lost her baby as the result of a traffic accident. The issue also drew attention after a former Fortune 500 executive told police he was trying to kill himself when the pickup truck he was driving crossed an interstate median in December into the path of another car. A couple was killed, including a woman who was eight months pregnant.
Under current law, if an assault results in a miscarriage or stillbirth and the mother survives, a judge can sentence the assailant to up to 15 years in prison. The bill would allow enhanced sentences to the homicide statute for crimes resulting in the mother’s death. In the case of second degree murder, which is punishable by life in prison, the judge would have to state he or she had considered the miscarriage or stillbirth in deciding on a sentence.
Rideout, R-Lancaster, insisted his bill had nothing to do with abortion and included a provision excluding pregnant women obtaining abortions from being penalized. Rideout proposed initially applying the penalty after the eighth week of pregnancy but offered an amendment to make it after the 12th week. The House rejected both.
“It is not any less of a crime just because the mother survives,” Rideout argued.
But critics argued giving the fetus the legal status of a person in the criminal statutes could shift the focus from the mother who was killed to the fetus.
“We cannot compensate future parents and grandparents simply by declaring a fetus is a person,” said Rep. Shannon Chandley, D-Amherst. She said instead the state can provide for harsh penalties when the mother - who is the victim - is killed.
NARAL Pro-Choice New Hampshire opposed Rideout’s bill as a step toward granting personhood to fetuses and laying the groundwork for limiting abortions.
“We can all agree the circumstances surrounding this debate are tragic. We can also agree that justice should be served for crimes against pregnant women. What members of the House recognized today is that New Hampshire statute already includes stricter criminal penalties for crimes against women that result in miscarriage or stillbirth, and our current statute achieves this without granting legal rights to a fetus,” NARAL executive director Laura Thibault said in a statement.
At least 38 states have fetal homicide laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
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