Sue Myrick: “Mr. Speaker, when a baby is in the womb and someone violently attacks the mother and causes injuries or takes the life…”

“Mr. Speaker, when a baby is in the womb and someone violently attacks the mother and causes injuries or takes the life of that child, then the offender should be held responsible, and current law is unjust in that case. An individual who commits a Federal crime of violence against a pregnant woman receives no additional punishment for killing or injuring the woman's unborn child while committing the crime. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act protects the unborn child from violent crime. Those who injure or kill the child will be charged with a separate offense. The legislation is being called merely symbolic by its opponents. But how many women in America would view the loss of their wanted unborn child through violent means as merely symbolic? Clearly it is more serious, and it is more emotionally jarring to that woman, and it should be treated accordingly. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this rule and to support the underlying legislation.”