Image via WikipediaBut critics say legislation inspired by an unusual, perhaps even freakish criminal case, could open up a vast frontier around the question of intent and responsibility and give local prosecutors huge new powers to inquire about a woman’s intentions toward her unborn child.For better or worse this is what happens when legislators attempt to make laws to prevent difficult cases. See also Terry Schiavo.
For example, if a pregnant woman gets into a vehicle, goes on a wild ride way over the speed limit without wearing a seatbelt and crashes and the fetus is killed, is she a reckless driver? Or is she a reckless mother-to-be who criminally ignored the safety of her fetus?
On the other hand, rhetoric suggesting that bills like this reduce women to having the legal standing of household pets, livestock, etc. doesn't help. I guess it does, however, illustrate the difficulty of finding middle ground in the face of "abortion is murder" claims.
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