The Unborn Victims of Violence Act Page: 1 of 6
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Order Code RS21550
Updated January 24, 2007
~. CRS Report for Congress
The Unborn Victims of Violence Act
Jon O. Shimabukuro
Legislative Attorney
American Law Division
Summary
The Unborn Victims of Violence Act (P.L. 108-212) establishes a separate offense
for harming or killing an "unborn child" in utero during the commission of specified
violent crimes. This report examines the act's provisions, and reviews similar state laws
that criminalize the killing of a fetus or unborn child. The report also discusses selected
cases that have considered the constitutionality of state fetal homicide and unborn child
homicide statutes. These cases provide some guidance as to how a reviewing court may
consider a future case involving the legitimacy of the act.
The Unborn Victims of Violence Act ("UVVA" or "the act") establishes a separate
offense for harming or killing an "unborn child" in utero during the commission of
specified violent crimes. Signed by the President on April 1, 2004, the act ensures that
"the most vulnerable in our society are in fact protected."' Although statutes that
criminalize the killing of a fetus or "unborn child" exist at the state level, the sponsors of
the act maintained that, prior to the act's passage, no protection existed for an unborn
victim of a federal crime.2
This report examines the act's provisions, and reviews existing state laws that
criminalize the killing of a fetus or unborn child. The report also discusses selected cases
that have considered the legitimacy of state fetal homicide and unborn child homicide
statutes.
1149 Cong. Rec. S192 (daily ed. Jan. 10, 2003) (statement of Sen. DeWine). The Unborn
Victims of Violence Act was introduced in the Senate as S. 146 on January 10, 2003 by Sen.
Michael DeWine. The act was reintroduced in the Senate as S. 1019 on May 7, 2003 by Sen.
DeWine. The House version of the act was introduced as H.R. 1997 on May 7, 2003 by Rep.
Melissa A. Hart. H.R. 1997, the bill enacted by Congress, may be cited as the Unborn Victims
of Violence Act of 2004 or Laci and Conner's Law.
2 Id.
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Shimabukuro, Jon O. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act, report, January 24, 2007; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc811476/m1/1/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.