[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 16] [Senate] [Pages 23554-23555] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]UNBORN VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE ACT Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, yesterday my colleagues in the Senate, Senator Helms, Senator Enzi, Senator Voinovich, Senator Tim Hutchinson, and Senator Nickles, introduced a bill that would establish new criminal penalties for anyone injuring or harming a fetus while committing another Federal offense. By providing a Federal remedy, our bill, the bill we are calling the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, will help ensure that crimes against unborn victims are in fact punished. The House passed their version of this bill yesterday by a vote of 254 to 172. Tragically, unborn babies, perhaps more than we realize, are the targets--sometimes intended, sometimes otherwise--of violent acts. That is why we need to pass this bill. Let me give several very disturbing real-life examples. In 1996, Airman Gregory Robbins and his family were stationed in my home State of Ohio at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. At that time, Mrs. Robbins was more than 8 months pregnant with a daughter whom they would name Jasmine. On September 12, 1996, in a fit of rage, Airman Robbins wrapped his fist in a T-shirt to reduce the chance he would inflict visible injuries and then savagely beat his wife by striking her repeatedly about the head and the stomach. Fortunately, Mrs. Robbins survived this violent assault, but, sadly and tragically, her uterus ruptured during the attack, expelling the baby into her abdominal cavity, causing this little child's death. A prosecutor sought to prosecute the airman for the little girl's death, but neither the Uniform Code of Military Justice nor the Federal code makes criminal such an act, such an act which results in the death or injury of an unborn child. So they had to look outside the Federal code, outside that law. The only available Federal offense actually was for the assault on the mother. That, of course, is a Federal offense. This was a case in which the only available Federal penalty obviously did not fit the crime. So prosecutors looked outside Federal law, used Ohio law, and then bootstrapped--if we can use the term--the Ohio fetal homicide law to convict Mr. Robbins of Jasmine's death. This case is currently pending appeal. We certainly hope justice is done. It is being appealed under the theory that if it was not in fact a Federal offense, you could not use the assimilation statute to bring this into the court using the Ohio law. If it weren't for the Ohio law that is already in place and that the Presiding Officer of the Chamber was very instrumental in getting passed and signed into law, there would have been no opportunity to prosecute and punish Airman Robbins for the assault against baby Jasmine. We need a Federal remedy to avoid having to bootstrap State laws and to provide recourse when a violent act occurs during the commission of a Federal crime, especially in cases when the State in which the crime occurs does not have a fetal protection law in place, because there are some States that simply do not. There are other sickening examples of violence against innocent unborn children. An incident occurred in Arkansas just a few short weeks ago. Nearly 9 months pregnant, Shawana Pace of Little Rock was days away from giving birth to a child. She was thrilled about the pregnancy. Her boyfriend, Eric Bullock, did not share her joy and did not share her enthusiasm. In fact, Eric wanted the baby to die. So he hired three thugs to beat her, and to beat her so badly that she would lose this unborn child. During the vicious assault against mother and child, one of the hired hitmen allegedly said--and I quote--Your baby is going to die tonight. Tragically, the baby did die that night. Shawana named the baby Heaven. We all should be saddened, we all should be sickened, by the sheer inhumanity and brutality of this act of violence. Fortunately, the State of Arkansas, like Ohio, passed a fetal protection law which allows Arkansas prosecutors to charge defendants with murder for the death of a fetus. Under previous law, such attackers could be charged only with crimes against the pregnant woman. That is under the old law, as in the case of Baby Jasmine's death in Ohio, but for the Arkansas State law, there would be no remedy--no punishment--for Baby Heaven's brutal murder. The only charge would be assault against the mother. Another example: In the Oklahoma City World Trade Center bombings-- here, too--Federal prosecutors were able to charge the defendants with the murders of, or injuries to, the mothers --but not to their unborn babies. Again, Federal law currently only provides penalties for crimes against born humans. There are no Federal provisions for the unborn, no matter what the circumstances, no matter how heinous the crime. This clearly is wrong. Within the Senate, we have the power to do something about this, to rectify this wrong, to change the law. That is what our bill is intended to do. It is wrong that our Federal Government does absolutely nothing to criminalize violent acts against unborn children. We must correct this loophole. I think most Americans would look at it that way and say that is a loophole that should not exist. Congress should change this. We must correct this loophole in our law, for it allows criminals to get away with violent acts--and sometimes even allows them to get away with murder. We, as a civilized society, should not, with good conscience, stand for that. That is why our bill would hold criminals liable for conduct that harms or kills an unborn child. It would make it [[Page 23555]] a separate crime under the Federal Code and the Uniform Code of Military Justice to kill or injure an unborn child during the commission of certain existing Federal crimes. Our bill, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, would create a separate offense for unborn children. It would acknowledge them as the victims they are. Our bill would no longer allow violent acts against unborn babies to be considered victimless crimes. At least 24 States already have criminalized harm to unborn victims, so this is not a new concept. Another seven States have criminalized the unlawful termination of a pregnancy. In November of 1996, a baby, just 3 months from full term, was killed in Ohio as a result of road rage. An angry driver forced a pregnant mother's car to crash into a flatbed truck. Because the Ohio Revised Code imposes criminal liability for any violent conduct that terminates a pregnancy of a child in utero, the prosecutor successfully tried and convicted the driver for recklessly causing the baby's death. Our bill would make an act of violence such as this a Federal crime. It would make sure it was always covered. This is a very simple step, but one that will have a dramatic affect. It is, quite frankly, a question of justice. Let me make it clear to my colleagues in the Senate that we purposely drafted this legislation very narrowly. For example, it would not permit the prosecution for any abortion to which a woman consented. It would not permit the prosecution of a woman for any action--legal or illegal--in regard to her unborn child. That is not what the intent of this legislation is all about. This legislation, further, would not permit the prosecution for harm caused to the mother or unborn child in the case of medical treatment. The bill would not allow for the imposition of the death penalty under this act. It is time we wrap the arms of justice around unborn children and protect them against criminal assailants. Those who violently attack unborn babies are criminals. The Federal penalty should, in fact, fit the crime. I strongly urge my colleagues to support our legislation. We have an obligation to our unborn children. This bill will bring about justice. It is the right thing to do. I thank the Chair and yield the floor. Ms. LANDRIEU addressed the Chair. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana is recognized. Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 15 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________