If abortion is legal (in most states) and a fetus isn't considered a living person....?

Question

then, why is it that when someone kills a pregnant women, it is possible to charge them with TWO counts of murder, one for the fetus that most laws don't recognize as a living person anyway?...is this just possible in states where abortion is illegal, or do laws and our judicial system only recognise an unborn baby as a living person when they want to put a criminal away for life for a heinous crime,...but not when the parents simply don't want the kid (which to me, is still a heinous crime)? what's your oppinions?

persons with knowledge of law and criminal law backgrounds, please expound on this question....

Answer 1

abortion is 'big business' so it will never be illegal, unfortunately. apparently, only the mother can make the decision to abort a 'fetus' life.

so, even though both instances are wrong and result in murder, the killing of a pregnant women will equal multiple counts of murder, instead of just one count, because a fetus is a person only in the event of the demise of the mother against her will, but the murder of a 'fetus' is not ever murder (according to law and pro-choicer's) if the mother gives the okay to kill the fetus first, by way of medical abortion...does that make sense?

doesn't make sense to me either.

-hbb

Answer 2

In most states, during the third trimester, it is recognized that the child could live outside the womb, so if it's life is taken without the mother's consent, it constitutes murder. In many states, the death penalty cannot be applied unless it meets certain criteria, one of them being that two or more lives are taken. This satisfies that requirement. In many of these cases, the unborn child is the focus of the crime. When the mother is denied the right to speak for herself (due to her demise) and this is according to the wishes of her surviving relatives, (and usually it is) it seems to me that this is a fair application of the law. Since in most states, abortion is illegal in the third trimester,unless the mother's life is in immediate danger, or it is determined that the fetus is not viable (very rare at this stage) the law goes a long way toward recognizing that the fetus is capable of life to begin with. I am not an attorney, but I have had some experience with cases similar to this one as a friend and advocate.

Answer 3

This comes down to how the individual state defines a "life in being". Many states define that a fetus is a life at 16 weeks (24 in NY). Other states define that a fetus is a life if it could potentially survive outside of the womb. Other states do not consider it a life until it is actually birthed live. Really, it depends on the individual state and this definition. This has absolutely nothing to do with abortion, which is clearly a woman's right under Roe v. Wade.

Answer 4

The main reason is Seat-Belt injury from a traffic accident. It does not make the evening News very often; but it happens more than you would think. Many unborn babies are killed every year from trauma incurred in Auto Accidents. Generally I do not take a Pro Abortion position; but I do understand that sometimes the unborn dies or is dramatically injured. .At that point there is nothing else that can be done. Pregnant Women should have a X belt that does not put a strap over the unborn baby. The current design used in most cars can literally squeeze the life out of a late term Baby

Answer 5

I believe the argument they use boils down to this: the baby is inside the mother's body, and the mother should be able to do whatever she wants with her body, therefore she can kill her own baby. On the other hand, when a pregnant woman is murdered, the person who kills her does not have the right to kill the baby because he/she is not side the murderer's body, therefore you get two counts of murder. Does it make total sense? No, of course not, but it never does when one is trying to defend a morally indefensible act.

Answer 6

if and when autopsy is done, and can be proven the child could take a breath, and anyway after so many weeks a baby can live outside is counted in a different way....Now with Jessie is she went into labor before her due date but after 25 weeks viability the baby could live.

Answer 7

very short answer. The legislature can classify the same thing different ways. for instance money you take in may be income for the purposes of welfare but not for the purpose of income tax. They make this choice regardless of if it is rational or not.

Answer 8

Well abortion isn't carried out by murdering the mother, who was planning on carrying her baby to term.

Answer 9

The fetus (Child) IS ALIVE inside the womb. It keeps growing each day. It is not a dead blob.........it develops into a real baby . There are two lives involved.

It's very easy to understand. Even very early a heartbeat can be heard by certain tests.

Answer 10

Because in the US a fetus is only a person if it's mama says so.