In an Op-Ed article distributed to Virginia newspapers in early June, Attorney General Jerry Kilgore called for the enactment of an Unborn Victims of Violence law here in Virginia.

Mr. Kilgore began by citing the fact that Laci Peterson’s body was not the only one washed up on shore in California. Her unborn son, already named Conner, was recovered along with his mother. There are now two murder charges against Laci’s husband Scott, one for his wife and one for his unborn son. “This is so because California, unusual as it may sound, is actually enlightened as compared to Virginia” in the murder of an unborn baby.

“If the crime had occurred in the Commonwealth of Virginia, prosecutors would find their hands tied and their options of charges limited,” wrote the Attorney General. He noted that California and 28 other states have additional penalties available for killing an unborn baby. “The General Assembly has considered this addition to Virginia law, but has yet to enact it. This is a rare case in which Virginia is behind California in criminal law.”

Mr. Kilgore cited two relevant Virginia cases. In 2001, a pregnant woman in Louisa County was killed by a homemade bomb. The father of the unborn baby was convicted on one count of murder. According to prosecutors, he planted the bomb to avoid paying child support. In 1994, Christopher Goins shot and killed the parents and three siblings of his 14-year-old pregnant girlfriend in an effort to prevent the birth of his unborn child. His girlfriend survived but the unborn child was not as fortunate. Yet, only five charges of murder were filed. In both these cases, the real target was the unborn child but no charges could be filed for that murder.

“Sadly and predictably, there are those who irresponsibly overlook the facts of criminal cases and seek to score political points with their constituencies,” Mr. Kilgore observed. “Witness the witless tirade of the New Jersey activist who opposed a second murder charge for the accused killer of Laci Peterson. Are we so bereft as a society that we cannot recognize when murder is murder?

“There is no doubt that the good people of Virginia hope that a fetal homicide law is never again necessary in Virginia, but that is hardly a reason not pass this common sense legislation. We have murder statutes as well – written with the aim that people will understand that human life is precious and that the penalties for taking it are severe. But there are those among us who do not live by the same codes of conduct as most, and so, unfortunately, such laws are becoming increasingly necessary. I pledge that I will work diligently in the next General Assembly session to see this legislation passed and placed on the governor’s desk for his signature.”

Published in VSHL Lifesaver, June 2003