Fight looms in House over bill to protect fetuses

From Kate Snow
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Tracy Marciniak is sharing her story.

Brought to Washington by the National Right to Life Committee, she is going from office to office showing members of Congress a photograph of her dead infant.

"I was four days away from full-term, my due date, and my husband at the time brutally beat me in the stomach, twice hit me purposely, and I lost my son because of that, and I almost lost my life," she said.

That story helped change Wisconsin law. At the time, her husband could be charged only for the injuries to his wife, not for murder. Now, Wisconsin and more than 20 other states have laws that treat violent crime against pregnant women as crimes against two separate individuals.

Rep. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, wants federal cases to be treated the same way. The House takes up Graham's legislation -- the so-called "Unborn Victims of Violence Act" -- on Thursday.

"Most Americans would want to hold criminals responsible for destroying or injuring unborn children once that child is chosen to be had," Graham said.

Graham said the legislation is not about abortion, but it has implications beyond violent crime.

The bill calls for the "protection of unborn children," and advocates of abortion rights say it is a thinly veiled attempt to push an anti-abortion agenda.

"I think the motive is to establish in federal law the personhood from conception forward and try and alter the Constitution through statute," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-California.

Lofgren is offering an alternative, similar to laws in seven states, that would stiffen penalties but treat a pregnant woman as a single victim.

In 1999, that alternative lost by 23 votes and the House approved Graham's bill. Most expect the same result this time -- the first victory in this Congress for foes of abortion.

"Anything that makes people reflect about the humanity of the unborn child, we think, is a good thing," said Douglas Johnson of the National Right to Life Committee.

Some say passing the bill would create momentum, paving the way for more anti-abortion legislation. This time, they have a powerful ally. Although the bill may have trouble passing the Senate, President Bush fully supports it.

See related sites about Politics

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.