Peterson's Case Acknowledges Rights of Unborn Children
The infamous Scott Peterson trial reached a near-conclusion Monday when the jury decided he should get the death penalty, a sentence some pro-lifers feel say is a step toward acknowledging the rights of unborn children.
The infamous Scott Peterson trial reached a near-conclusion Monday when the jury decided he should get the death penalty, a sentence some pro-lifers feel say is a step toward acknowledging the rights of unborn children.
Peterson was convicted guilty last month for the first-degree murder of his wife Laci and the second-degree murder of his 8-month unborn son, whom the couple had named Conner. He was charged for two murders under California’s fetal homicide laws, which defines an unborn child as “an individual member of the species Homo sapiens, at any stage of development in utero, who was alive at the time of the homicidal act and died as a result thereof whether before, during or after birth.”Some newspapers report that without the fetus homicide law, Peterson would have only been convicted for one murder and not eligible for the death penalty.
The publicized death of Laci and Conner also helped along the passage of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, also known as “Laci and Conner’s Law,” which President Bush signed into law on April 1 of this year. Under the Act, the federal crime committed against a pregnant woman would also recognize the ‘unborn child’ as a victim.
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"Like nothing else, this case put the life of unborn babies on the map. Conner Peterson showed us all that the unborn child has rights,” said pro-family leader Randy Thomasson of Campaign for Children and Families.
“It's ironic,” Thomasson noted. “Why is it wrong for Scott Peterson to murder his pre-born son, but OK for politicians and judges to continue to allow late-term abortions?"
Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll, R-Morris Twp., a pro-lifer, told The Daily Record he hoped the Peterson trial had weakened abortion rights by spotlighting the love Laci's family felt for her unborn son.
"Eventually, there will come a time in the maturation of our species that we'll look back on abortion the same way we look back on slavery. This case was a step in that direction," Carroll said.
Experts expect Peterson's case to go through a lengthy appeals process, possibly delaying the death penalty for years.
