The Unborn Victims of Violence Act is Pro-Choice, But Protects Life by Michael Benjamin
December 10th, 2007
As the Assembly sponsor of A5777, The Unborn Victims of Violence Act (UVV), I strongly believe that the involuntary termination of a pregnancy through violence or other premeditated act must be treated as a violent felony. Under current state law, an unborn child is not considered a legal victim of a crime. In the case of homicide, New York literally allows criminals to get away with murder.
Sadly, murder has become the number one cause of death for pregnant women in America. An estimated one in five women will be abused during their pregnancy. Women who choose to have their babies are dying (and, so are their babies) because of their choice. And most of the assailants are the fathers of the unborn children.
Violent attacks on pregnant women in New York have increased since 2000 and highlight the deficiency in current law and the need for reform. In September, a pregnant Long Island woman and her unborn son lost their lives in a senseless act of violence.
This was one case in a litany of cases that cry out for justice:
March 2006 — a nine months pregnant Bronx woman, was brutally stabbed, strangled and beaten to death.
April 2005 — a near-term pregnant woman was found shot in the head and dumped in the waters off Manhattan.
February 2005 — a pregnant secretary was shot to death by her boyfriend because she had gotten pregnant and refused to have an abortion.
Christmas Eve 2003 — Allan Murphy shot his girlfriend, who was three-months pregnant, in the temple.
July 2003 — a pregnant woman in upstate Troy was repeatedly stabbed in the abdomen by her boyfriend in an effort to cause a miscarriage.
June 2003 — a pregnant Bronx woman was repeatedly assaulted and kicked in the stomach causing the death of her unborn twin boys at eight months.
March 2003 — a married man bound his pregnant girlfriend to a chair and then blew up her house. The girlfriend had refused to have an abortion.
April 2000 — a Bronx nurse was injected with the abortion drug by her lover, a doctor, in an effort to terminate her pregnancy.
New York State lags behind most states in this area of crime victims’ protection. Thirty-one states now provide protection and justice for pregnant women and their unborn children who are victims of violence. Courts have ruled that Roe v. Wade does not protect, much less confer on an assailant, a third-party right to destroy an unborn child.
Presently, state law effectively denies adequate protection to pregnant women and their children. Although the babies are laid to rest in marked graves and the surviving families grieve for them, New York law tells them that their loved one never existed. When a woman makes a conscious decision to keep her baby and has that choice violently taken away from her, justice demands that the perpetrator be punished for that crime.
I support a woman’s right to choose and my bill clearly and unarguably protects legal abortion rights. However, unlike most of my Democratic colleagues, I openly support a woman’s right to choose life. NARAL Pro-Choice America and their Assembly supporters have taken an “all-or-nothing approach” to enacting the UVV Act. They believe any effort to protect a woman’s right to choose life harms another woman’s right to have an abortion. I spoke with a former president of the state District Attorneys Association who has confirmed that line of thinking. And since district attorneys are elected, many will not support the UVV Act.
Pro-abortion zealots seem to treat the loss of an unborn child as though it were a bruise. They seem insensitive toward the mothers and their loss, otherwise they would not object to recognizing the intrinsic value of an unborn child’s life. Pro-choice politics requires that Democrats march in lock-step or face electoral consequences. That, I believe, is the reason why the bill has been blocked by Assembly Health Committee chairman Richard Gottfried. Otherwise, together with the Republican minority, there are more than enough votes to pass the Assembly.
We should not let purposeful, vicious acts directed against pregnant mothers and their unborn children continue to go unpunished. I serve in the State Legislature because I want to create a society in which everyone is able to flourish—even the unborn child. The UVV Act will be enacted when those opposing this bill choose compassion and justice over politics. Until then, I will work to change hearts and minds.
Michael Benjamin is a Democrat representing parts of the Bronx in the Assembly.
Sadly, murder has become the number one cause of death for pregnant women in America. An estimated one in five women will be abused during their pregnancy. Women who choose to have their babies are dying (and, so are their babies) because of their choice. And most of the assailants are the fathers of the unborn children.
Violent attacks on pregnant women in New York have increased since 2000 and highlight the deficiency in current law and the need for reform. In September, a pregnant Long Island woman and her unborn son lost their lives in a senseless act of violence.
This was one case in a litany of cases that cry out for justice:
March 2006 — a nine months pregnant Bronx woman, was brutally stabbed, strangled and beaten to death.
April 2005 — a near-term pregnant woman was found shot in the head and dumped in the waters off Manhattan.
February 2005 — a pregnant secretary was shot to death by her boyfriend because she had gotten pregnant and refused to have an abortion.
Christmas Eve 2003 — Allan Murphy shot his girlfriend, who was three-months pregnant, in the temple.
July 2003 — a pregnant woman in upstate Troy was repeatedly stabbed in the abdomen by her boyfriend in an effort to cause a miscarriage.
June 2003 — a pregnant Bronx woman was repeatedly assaulted and kicked in the stomach causing the death of her unborn twin boys at eight months.
March 2003 — a married man bound his pregnant girlfriend to a chair and then blew up her house. The girlfriend had refused to have an abortion.
April 2000 — a Bronx nurse was injected with the abortion drug by her lover, a doctor, in an effort to terminate her pregnancy.
New York State lags behind most states in this area of crime victims’ protection. Thirty-one states now provide protection and justice for pregnant women and their unborn children who are victims of violence. Courts have ruled that Roe v. Wade does not protect, much less confer on an assailant, a third-party right to destroy an unborn child.
Presently, state law effectively denies adequate protection to pregnant women and their children. Although the babies are laid to rest in marked graves and the surviving families grieve for them, New York law tells them that their loved one never existed. When a woman makes a conscious decision to keep her baby and has that choice violently taken away from her, justice demands that the perpetrator be punished for that crime.
I support a woman’s right to choose and my bill clearly and unarguably protects legal abortion rights. However, unlike most of my Democratic colleagues, I openly support a woman’s right to choose life. NARAL Pro-Choice America and their Assembly supporters have taken an “all-or-nothing approach” to enacting the UVV Act. They believe any effort to protect a woman’s right to choose life harms another woman’s right to have an abortion. I spoke with a former president of the state District Attorneys Association who has confirmed that line of thinking. And since district attorneys are elected, many will not support the UVV Act.
Pro-abortion zealots seem to treat the loss of an unborn child as though it were a bruise. They seem insensitive toward the mothers and their loss, otherwise they would not object to recognizing the intrinsic value of an unborn child’s life. Pro-choice politics requires that Democrats march in lock-step or face electoral consequences. That, I believe, is the reason why the bill has been blocked by Assembly Health Committee chairman Richard Gottfried. Otherwise, together with the Republican minority, there are more than enough votes to pass the Assembly.
We should not let purposeful, vicious acts directed against pregnant mothers and their unborn children continue to go unpunished. I serve in the State Legislature because I want to create a society in which everyone is able to flourish—even the unborn child. The UVV Act will be enacted when those opposing this bill choose compassion and justice over politics. Until then, I will work to change hearts and minds.
Michael Benjamin is a Democrat representing parts of the Bronx in the Assembly.
