Under proposed bill, killing an unborn child would carry penalty
Published: Sun, Jun. 15, 2008 12:30AM
Modified Sun, Jun. 15, 2008 02:25AM
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closeIf police catch Jenna Nielsen's killer, he or she will never spend a day in prison for killing the child Nielsen carried nearly to term.
That's because North Carolina has no law that brings charges against a person for causing the death of an unborn baby.
A joint resolution making its way through the Senate this session would allow a bill to be heard making it a separate crime to harm the unborn baby. Nielsen's family has come out in favor of such a bill, which would have meant charges in the death of Ethen, the baby boy Jenna Nielsen was due to deliver on July 8, 2007.
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The choice of whether to make charges in the death of a fetus has been an issue for state legislators since the 1980s, when the idea was first considered. State Rep. Trudi Walend, who has been working on the issue for 10 years, said it is time for North Carolina to join the other 36 states that already have similar laws.
"California's had a law on the books since the '70s," said Walend, whose district includes Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties. "We are hopeful that the Senate will hear the resolution soon so we can move forward."
In the past two years, at least half a dozen pregnant women in North Carolina have been killed in acts of violence.
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