Two separate laws related to unborn children have recently been passed into North Carolina state law.
Under one of the new laws, abortion decisions that are predominantly determined by the sex of the fetus are now deemed illegal. The second law, known as “Lilly’s Law” states that if a living fetus dies as a result of injuries inflicted to the woman prior to birth of the fetus then that constitutes as an act of murder.
“This is just one provision of a larger regulation. The bill has several provisions that are directed towards healthcare,” said Sarah Preston, policy director of American Civil Liberties Union, referring to the sex-selective abortion law.
The law was put into effect Oct. 1, 2013 by the General Assembly of North Carolina. It states that no person can perform an abortion procedure on a woman based off knowledge related to the sex of the fetus. Anyone who violates the law would be heavily penalized, facing up to $100,000 in charges.
Some groups have criticized the law.
“There’s really no research in North Carolina that documents this as a problem,” said Jina Dhillon, former president of North Carolina Women United who also testified against the bill. “Not only is this not the appropriate legislation to solve this problem, it also perpetuates discrimination against women of Asian descent.”
Dhillon further explained that the idea of sexual abortion is most common in Asian cultures where it is a major issue.
“It’s a deeply-rooted cultural issue,” Dhillon said. “Banning abortion will not solve the problem, but we need to understand the root causes for sexual preference.”
Preston mentioned that there was little to no information on whether the bill has had much impact so far on the number of abortions performed throughout the state. She added that other states were implementing similar legislation but that the ACLU opposed the bill because they did not see the necessity of placing additional burdens on women seeking lawful healthcare.
“Reducing access to abortion, which is a constitutionally protected healthcare service, endangers women’s rights and their overall health,” Preston said.
“Lily’s Law” went into effect Dec. 1, 2013 and allows murder charges against an individual if they injure a child in the uterus and the injuries result in the child’s death. The law is named after Lillian, the deceased daughter of Danna Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was 27 weeks pregnant when her husband shot her in the abdomen with a .45 caliber handgun. Although Fitzgerald survived the shooting, her child, Lillian, died due to the injuries sustained from the incident.
Republican state senators Rick Gunn, Warren Daniel and Shirley Randleman sponsored the bill among other senators.
“The incident took place in Senator Gunn’s district and so he felt really passionate about this bill,” said Daniel, who represents the 46th District of North Carolina. “It raised a legal question about whether this could be considered a murder.”
Gunn could not be reached in time for publication.
“People believe women have a choice with fetuses, but in the case of Lily’s Law, the woman chooses to keep the child and the criminal deprives her of the child,” Daniel said.
NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina and Planned Parenthood for North Carolina could not be reached.
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