Alabama takes step forward in protecting the unborn

Governor Riley has signed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act into law.

The law redefines the term "person" to include the unborn, stating:

The term ["person"], when referring to the victim of a criminal homicide or assault, means a human being, including an unborn child in utero at any stage of development, regardless of viability.

Legislators went out of their way to ensure that the law doesn't affect one particular form of violence against the unborn - abortion - with the following language:

Nothing [in the act] shall permit the prosecution of (1) any person for conduct relating to an abortion for which the consent of the pregnant woman or a person authorized by law to act on her behalf has been obtained or for which consent is implied by law or (2) any woman with respect to her unborn child...

Nothing in this act shall make it a crime to perform or obtain an abortion that is otherwise legal. Nothing in this act shall be construed to make an abortion legal which is not otherwise authorized by law.

With Governor Riley's signature, Alabama became the 33rd state to enact a law recognizing two victims instead of one when a pregnant woman is assaulted or killed.