Abortion Debate Forum - Alexa's Law Giving Ks Unborn " personhood "

Debate Forums > Abortion Debate Forum > Alexa's Law Giving Ks Unborn " personhood "

Q: Alexa's Law Giving Ks Unborn " personhood "

asked by: trina1 on May 21st, 2007

Active User, very eHealthy

Sebelius signs Alexa's Law
BY DION LEFLER
The Wichita Eagle
Terri Brooks has lost a lot -- a 14-year-old daughter murdered and a granddaughter never to be born.

But on Wednesday, 11 months to the day after the slaying of her pregnant daughter, Brooks won a victory when Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed Alexa's Law, which makes it a crime to harm a fetus.

"I'm overwhelmed. I can't believe it," Brooks said. "It's just very emotional to think we made it this far."

Asked what she would say to the governor, Brooks, her voice choking, could only produce two words: "Thank you."

The new law will allow prosecutors to bring double charges against a person who attacks a pregnant woman -- once for harming the mother and once for harming her fetus.

Alexa's Law draws its name from the case of Chelsea Brooks, a pregnant teen killed last year in what prosecutors say was a homicide-for-hire plot by her boyfriend.

Alexa was the name Chelsea had chosen for her unborn daughter.

Chelsea's former boyfriend faces a homicide charge that could bring him the death penalty. Prosecutors allege he had Chelsea killed in an effort to avoid being prosecuted for having sex with the underage girl.

Terri Brooks and her family made several trips to Topeka in the past several months to advocate for Alexa's Law and tell their story in legislative hearings.

Conservative lawmakers who pushed the bill through the Legislature were also pleased that Sebelius signed it.

Complete story
http://www.kansas.com/212/story/66297.html

Replies(7)

Birch

replied on May 21st, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

And Now...the Rest of the Story:

wrote:

Brunk had tried for years to get a fetal protection bill through the Legislature as the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.

But it was blocked by abortion-rights proponents who worried that defining a fetus as a separate human being could open the door to more restrictions on abortions.

Brunk exempted abortion and acts of the mother from prosecution under Alexa's Law, in an attempt to keep it out of the abortion debate at the Capitol.

Opponents said Alexa's Law does little to protect pregnant women and they think in some cases, it could be used to aid prosecutions of women who don't take care of themselves while pregnant.

"More than 30 states have laws similar to UVVA (Unborn Victims of Violence Act), and violence against pregnant women in those states has not stopped or even been minimized," Julie Burkhart, director of the abortion-rights group ProKanDo, said in a written statement.

"Similarly, this law will not help pregnant women in Kansas escape the perils of violent behavior, either," she said.

ProKanDo and other groups opposed to Alexa's Law had advocated for increasing penalties for harming a pregnant woman, while not defining the fetus as a separate person.

"What we need are laws that will place value on the lives of the women who give life," Burkhart said.

Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, shepherded the measure through the Senate.

He said he doesn't think there's much chance prosecutors will misuse Alexa's Law to go after pregnant women.

During the legislative process, it was revised to apply only to a specific set of crimes, all violent.

"It's intended to be very narrow in its application," Journey said.

Alexa's Law was packaged into a comprehensive crime bill that also establishes prison sentences for serial burglars, clarifies when residents can use deadly force to protect themselves, outlaws household-chemical bombs and makes it easier to enforce laws against possession of drug paraphernalia.

"Taken as a whole, it was a good bill for the governor to sign," Brunk said.

From the same link as above.

trina1

replied on May 21st, 2007

Active User, very eHealthy

Is the rest of the story for those you think might not go and read the first post? Laughing

Just an FYI....I don't know about this message board....but any other I have been on.....you are only suppose to post the first few paragraphs of an article and then a link....so as not to "infringe" on the original sites article. That is what I did.

trina1

replied on May 21st, 2007

Active User, very eHealthy

I think....and I would hope you all would agree....that the important thing here is that Alexa was a "wanted" child and by giving her personhood....maybe her death will not go unpunished. Both her and her mothers death was premeditated and brutal.....and I don't believe any human should experience that kind of death.

Birch

replied on May 21st, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

trina1 wrote:

Is the rest of the story for those you think might not go and read the first post? Laughing

You cut the article off right before it explained that the law exempts abortion. The rest of the article had comments by opponents. I felt it misleading to not include that information especially since we are in the abortion forum. Nothing personal, and I do know that it's courtesy to only post the first few paragraphs of an article in many forums.

trina1

replied on May 21st, 2007

Active User, very eHealthy

Birch wrote:

trina1 wrote:

Is the rest of the story for those you think might not go and read the first post? Laughing

I realized that after I went back and read where I cut it off. It was not my intention to be misleading....as I did post the link....and figured people would just go there and read where I left off. At any rate.....it is there for the reading. Smile

Jules

replied on May 22nd, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

This bothers me a bit because how can one foetus's life be judged more valuable than another? Either a foetus has personhood or it doesn't.

trina1

replied on May 22nd, 2007

Active User, very eHealthy

PurestGreen wrote:

This bothers me a bit because how can one foetus's life be judged more valuable than another? Either a foetus has personhood or it doesn't.

Exactly....but it is a start. It is more than we had a year ago....and maybe a year from now "someone" will realize that all human life is valuable...not just certain ones.

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