Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: “In our Nation a convicted murderer loses the right to vote, along with all basic civil rights. In 38 States, a convicted…”

“In our Nation a convicted murderer loses the right to vote, along with all basic civil rights. In 38 States, a convicted murderer may lose even the most fundamental right, the right to live. But what if within the confines of our judicial and penal system a convicted murderer would have the right to kill again. What if, as a result of this legal right, a completely innocent human being to whom no trespass could be attributed was brutally killed. These hypothetical examples could be realized because for the 38 States which impose the death penalty, there is no current law which prohibits the execution of a pregnant woman who carries an innocent, unborn child. Madam Speaker, last week I introduced the Innocent Child Protection Act, H.R. 4888, which would make it illegal for any authority, military or civil, in any State to carry out a death sentence on a woman who carries a child in utero. No unborn child can possibly be guilty of committing a crime, therefore, no unborn child should be punished by death. H.R. 4888 will protect unborn children by preventing innocent human life from being sentenced to death.”