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I kid you not – the Republicans in the South Dakota House have introduced a bill allowing for justifiable homicide for those who harm the unborn:
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED, An Act to expand the definition of justifiable homicide to provide for the protection of certain unborn children.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
Section 1. That § 22-16-34 be amended to read as follows:22-16-34. Homicide is justifiable if committed by any person while resisting any attempt to murder such person, or to harm the unborn child of such person in a manner and to a degree likely to result in the death of the unborn child, or to commit any felony upon him or her, or upon or in any dwelling house in which such person is.
Section 2. That § 22-16-35 be amended to read as follows:
22-16-35. Homicide is justifiable if committed by any person in the lawful defense of such person, or of his or her husband, wife, parent, child, master, mistress, or servant, or the unborn child of any such enumerated person, if there is reasonable ground to apprehend a design to commit a felony, or to do some great personal injury, and imminent danger of such design being
See here, here, and here for more detail.
This is what we like to call, ‘The Final Solution.’ Or, perhaps, drawing your beliefs to the final conclusion. If you make an abortion a crime, what do you do to those who have them or perform them, and like this bill, with no exemption? Is it a misdemeanor like a parking ticket. It won’t pass – and more than likely, will not see the end of the day, but the fact is, is that more than one sponsor signed on to this.
I wonder if this also includes mothers who smoke, drink, or people who speed with a pregnant woman in their car, or live in Baton Rouge (cancer ally)?
The author of the bill says that it has absolutely nothing to do with abortion… and the income tax had nothing to do with health care either when it was first introduced (although I don’t believe the author of the bill)…
Joel L. Watts holds a Masters of Arts from United Theological Seminary with a focus in literary and rhetorical criticism of the New Testament. His interests include exploring the role of mimesis in human civilization, specifically in the study of religion and media, as well as science fiction and the way in which it has allowed mythology to be explored in light of scientific discoveries of the past century. He is the author of Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark: Introduction and Commentary (Wipf and Stock, 2013) and a co-editor and contributor to From Fear to Faith: Stories of Hitting Spiritual Walls (Energion, 2013).
Website: → Unsettled Christianity
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This sounds to me, not what some are saying.. to be open season on doctors, but to give individuals the right to defend another person’s life. Such as my daughter, being handicapped. She could not defend herself, but, if her life was threatened, I could defend her and not be tried for murder. Same if someone was endangering the unborn life of my sister, my aunt, etc. I could take action to protect my sister, aunt, etc and her baby. Have people not seen the many headlines of crazy people deliberately attacking a pregnant woman and slicing her open or shooting her unborn baby, or throwing her down the stairs, causing the injury or death of the mother and/or the unborn baby.
In the past, domestic abuse cases or other violent crimes against pregnant women which ended in the death of the unborn child was far too often shrugged off as a mere side affect of the mother’s injury. Thus, further de-valuing life… just because it was pre-born.
So, to those who are on a witch hunt, declaring that the law gives permission for a free-for-all against doctors, I believe that concept to be wrong. It doesn’t say that at all.
Sue, then it should be written to provide the exceptions for legal actions (I do not support abortion, BTW) which it does not. Further, the witnesses in community were all Anti-Choice advocates. The law actually does say that anyone committing harm to the fetus is able to be killed. In that language, there is no exemption for the doctor performing even a necessary abortion. Louisiana has a law which protects the life of the unborn, but it is written well. This one? This one allows for the justifiable homicide of the abortion doctor.