Ok say a woman is pregnant and someone kills her they get charged with 2 counts of murder right? Why does that count as killing 2 people but if you have an abortion its not considered murder? I'm not asking your opnion on abortion its a serious question I just want to know why that is thanks everyone who answers!
2007-09-20 02:56:48 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Pregnancy
Just out of curiosity I thought of this question last night and i was wondering
2007-09-20 03:01:57 · update #1
the answer to your question is it only counts as two counts of murder if the pregnant woman is I want to say 25 weeks but it may be less then that. I know that she has to be in her second trimester. and you cannot have an abortion anymore at that time either I'm not sure what the actual weeks is but I know it depends on the state to. so basically it is murder after a certain point but I'm not sure what the punishment is if you do have an abortion after the time limit but it should count as murder.
2007-09-20 03:07:12 · answer #1 · answered by squirtlelove18 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In the US, the Supreme Court has ruled that a woman has a right to an abortion, and any rights the fetus may have were not considered in that decision.
However, that decision is very unpopular in many regions, so some states have passed various laws upholding the right to life of the fetus to the maximum extent possible without being in direct conflict with the Supreme Court ruling. So, you see laws requiring a minor to have parental permission to have an abortion (which serves to discourage minors from seeking an abortion), laws preventing state aid from being used to fund abortions, etc.
Laws criminalizing the destruction of the fetus without the mother's permission, and making it a form of murder, are a logical extension of this philosophy. Usually these laws are written to specifically exclude a licensed medical practitioner who is performing an abortion with the consent of the mother from prosecution.
But if they could outlaw that, too, they would.
2007-09-20 03:10:24 · answer #2 · answered by El Jefe 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If I'm not mistaken, the baby has to be able to live outside the mother for it to be double murder. Which means the baby has to be a month or so from delivery.
Obviously, women that are 8-9 months pregnant are not going to have an abortion, so in the eyes of the lawmakers, it's different.
Example: Kill a pregnant women that's 2 months pregnant, get cahrged with one murder. Kill a women that's 2 weeks away from delivery and expect two counts of murder.
2007-09-20 03:03:11 · answer #3 · answered by ambertmbg1 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If a woman is pregnant (like Lacy Peterson) and someone kills her and the baby dies it is considered 2 counts of murder because that fetus is alive in the womb, and may still remained alive until the mother was murdered. that's why abortion IS considered murdered, because no matter how small that life is living and growing until the pregnancy is terminated.
2007-09-20 03:09:13 · answer #4 · answered by Angie S 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Well actually he would only be charged with 2 counts of murder if the feats was after a certain stage in its development (varies form place to place)
And its the same with abortion, I know in the US it is illegal to abort after 17 weeks.
Its the determining factor. The age of the feats.
2007-09-20 03:00:49 · answer #5 · answered by Heather R 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
well to be honest it depends on how far along the woman is i believe if the woman is before 21 weeks then its still considered a foetus and you will only be charged with one count but after that it is concidered a baby so its murder same with abortion its ilegal to have one after 20 weeks i think its immoral to have one that far on but its legal why do you want to kow this anyway?
2007-09-20 03:00:40 · answer #6 · answered by jmc 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Because it's all relative. The mother with child was unjustly murdured- therefore they label it a baby to press further charges on the murderer. But God forbid we infringe on a woman's "rights" to her body. In that case, it is no longer a baby, but a fetus, a bit of tissue, that happens to have 46 chromosomes.
The end justifies the means.
2007-09-20 03:01:26 · answer #7 · answered by not too creative 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It's because abortion is "legal"
it's all about laws and how they work with each other (the laws).
I understand your point though. You'll still, of course, get opinions on abortion ya know!!
2007-09-20 03:00:54 · answer #8 · answered by butterfliesRfree 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Killing the pregnant woman is killing two people because "mother" and "fetus" in her womb but abortion is killing only one person that is the fetus..
2007-09-20 03:02:53 · answer #9 · answered by Prem 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It does very by state. Some states have decided that it's only homicide when the baby is killed after viability.
Here is state by state info.
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/fethom.htm
2007-09-20 03:07:07 · answer #10 · answered by Melissa S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋