Arlen Specter: “I support enhanced penalties for criminal acts of violence against pregnant women. My concern with the DeWine bill is…”

“I support enhanced penalties for criminal acts of violence against pregnant women. My concern with the DeWine bill is that it unnecessarily seeks to weigh in on the abortion controversy with the definition of ``unborn child'' and ``child in utero.'' I voted for the Feinstein amendment because it accomplishes the substantive criminal law objectives of the DeWine bill without raising a potential issue on a possible challenge to Roe v. Wade. When the Feinstein Amendment lost, I voted for final passage of the DeWine Bill in order to impose appropriate double sanctions for the murder or assault of a pregnant woman that interferes with a pregnancy.”