(CNSNews.com) – President Bush is calling for congressional approval of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, a measure that would make it a crime to injure or kill unborn babies during the commission of a crime. “The president does believe that when an unborn child is injured or killed during the commission of a crime of violence, the law should recognize what most people immediately recognize, and that is that such a crime has two victims,” said White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer on Friday. This year’s bill is the same as those that passed the House of Representatives in 1999 and 2001 but were not acted on by the Senate. The president’s comments came on the heels of the arraignment of Scott Peterson, who is charged with the double murder of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son. California is one of 26 states that recognize the unborn as a legal victim in murder cases. Fleischer’s statement was applauded by the National Right to Life Committee. “If not for the opposition of groups like NARAL and the ACLU, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act would have passed the Senate years ago,” said NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson. “These groups callously insist that a crime like the Peterson murder has only one victim – but two bodies washed up on that beach in California.”
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