FETAL PROTECTION: On Shaky Legal Ground?
Late last month the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, seeking to extend federal criminal penalties for violence against fetuses. The concept also has considerable support in the Senate, but President Clinton would likely veto such a bill. Despite its remote chance of becoming law, the House bill is an important emblem of a larger trend toward fetal protections in the law, protections that may be at odds with Roe v. Wade. California Healthline columnist Jeff Stryker looks at state and federal efforts to imbue the fetus with the status of a person.
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Stryker's Corner is a regular Monday feature in California Healthline. Columnist Jeff Stryker takes readers behind the headlines, with in-depth articles, guest editorials and interviews with California newsmakers. Click here for more on Stryker and this feature.
Editor's Note
The views represented in this column are those of the columnist or guest editorialist and not of California Healthline or the National Journal Group.