Zoe Lofgren: “I would like to quote some of the editorial that ran in the New York Times on September 14. The editorial is entitled…”

“I would like to quote some of the editorial that ran in the New York Times on September 14. The editorial is entitled ``On a Dangerous Path to Fetal Rights.'' The New York Times points out: ``Congressional opponents of abortion rights have come up with yet another scheme to advance their agenda. Called the `Unborn Victims of Violence Act,' . . . the measure aims to chip away at women's reproductive freedom by granting new legal status to `unborn children'--under the deceptively benign guise of fighting crime. . . . ``No one would quarrel that an attack on a pregnant woman that results in a miscarriage or prevents normal fetal development is a tragedy. Extra severe penalties in such cases may be appropriate. But that can be done by prosecuting a defendant for assaulting the pregnant woman. The pending bill, however, treats the woman as a different entity from the fetus--in essence raising the status of a fetus to that of a person for law enforcement purposes--a longtime goal of the right- to-life movement. ``The bill contains exceptions for medical treatment and legal abortions. That has allowed the bill's sponsors to assert that the measure has nothing to do with the abortion issue. But that view is disingenuous. By creating a separate legal status for fetuses, the bill's supporters are plainly hoping to build a foundation for a fresh legal assault on the constitutional underpinnings of the Supreme Court's ruling in Roe v. Wade.”