AUGUSTA — The Senate Monday voted down a bill that assigns a degree of legal standing to human fetuses and creates additional offenses for violent crimes against pregnant women.
Five Republicans voted with the Democratic minority to defeat the measure, 18-15. The bill now goes to the House for a vote.
Proponents argued that the legislation is needed to bring justice to families that lose “unborn children” to acts of violence against women who are pregnant. But opponents said existing state law already penalizes such acts and that LD 1463 doubled as an anti-choice bill that would lead to the criminalization of abortion.
The bill, “An Act Regarding Offenses Against an Unborn Child,” establishes new crimes against unborn children that align with penalties against adults, including murder, manslaughter and aggravated assault.
The bill is modeled after the federal “Laci and Conner’s Law,” legislation triggered by the high-profile murder of the pregnant Laci Peterson by her husband.
Thirty-six states have adopted the law.
Sen. Debra Plowman, R-Hampden, the bill’s sponsor, said the bill was not designed to criminalize abortion, adding that it specifically excludes abortion from prosecution and exempts a pregnant woman from being prosecuted.
During Monday’s floor debate, Plowman described the bill as “another arrow in the quiver of prosecutors” to use in crimes against pregnant women.
Sen. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, said the bill is not necessary. Gerzofsky noted that Maine in 2005 passed the Motherhood Protection Act, which mandates judges to assign additional sentencing penalties involving convictions for violence against pregnant women.
Gerzofsky said he hadn’t heard from district attorneys or justices who thought the current law was insufficient.
Supporters of Plowman’s bill said the bill was not designed to undercut a woman’s right to choose.
Sen. Garrett Mason, R-Lisbon Falls, described the bill as the “ultimate pro-choice bill.”
But opponents argued that assigning separate legal rights to fetuses would create conflicts between a pregnant woman and her unborn child.
Sen. Phil Bartlett, D-Gorham, said prosecutors in other states had used similar legislation to punish women who had abortions.
“Make no mistake, this is designed to chip away at Roe v. Wade,” said Bartlett, adding that Maine doesn’t assign legal rights to fetuses. Such rights vary from state to state, with some giving rights at viability and others from conception.
LD 1463 would assign legal rights at viability, the point where a fetus can survive outside the womb.
Plowman has previously supported bills dealing with abortion. In 1997 she advocated for a failed bill that would have banned partial-birth abortion. In 2005 she supported a bill that would have required minors to consult their parents before having the procedure performed.
The Maine Right to Life Committee, the Catholic Diocese of Maine and the Christian Civic League support the bill.
The Maine Civil Liberties Union, the Maine Women’s Lobby, the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence, the Maine Family Planning Association and the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers oppose it.
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