Tony Hall: “I rise in support of H.R. 2436, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. Under current federal law, an individual who commits…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 2436, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. Under current federal law, an individual who commits a federal crime of violence against a pregnant women receives no additional punishment for killing or injuring the fetus. I think this is wrong and should be changed. An incident that occurred in my district illustrates why this law is so desperately needed. in 1996, a man enlisted in the Air Force and stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base--a jurisdiction which is governed by federal military law--severely beat his wife who was 34 weeks pregnant at the time. Although the women survived the attack, her uterus split open, expelling the baby into her mother's abdominal cavity, where the baby died. The man was arrested and charged with several criminal offenses for the attack. However, Air Force prosecutors concluded that they could not charge him with a separate offense for killing the baby because, although Ohio law recognizes an unborn child as a victim, federal law does not. In 1998, that judgment was concurred in the U.S. Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals ruling on that case. The court said, ``Federal homicide statutes reach only the killing of a born human being . . . (Congress) has not spoken with regard to the protection of an unborn person.'' Mr. Chairman, I believe it is time that Congress speaks on this issue by passing H.R. 2436.”