This is a really creepy example of why the Unborn Victims of Violence Act is a bad idea. Many states already have similar laws on the books, and the result is incidents like this...
In 1984, South Carolina's Supreme Court created a state feticide law in a case where a man viciously stabbed his pregnant girlfriend, causing her, among other things, to lose her pregnancy. In 1997, South Carolina used this law against a pregnant woman, Cornelia Whitner, who was charged with failing "to provide proper medical care for her unborn child." Whitner had given birth to a healthy baby who tested positive for an illegal drug. Based on extrapolation of the state feticide law, Ms. Whitner was convicted of criminal child abuse. At sentencing Ms. Whitner begged for drug treatment. The judge responded, "I think I'll just let her go to jail."
All part of our "war on drugs" I suppose. Ech. Wow. What about mothers who smoke during the early months of their pregnancy? Women with diabetes who aren't as vigilant as they should be about monitoring their blood sugar? Women who still exercise and injure themselves during pregnancy? How far is this going to go?
