THE Office of the Children’s Advocate (OCA) has suggested that, in cases where pregnant women are murdered, the accused should be prosecuted for the death of the foetus as well.

“Life begins at the point of conception and as such a foetus represents another life that if lost, due to the deliberate action of another who intends to cause death or grievous bodily harm, ought to be punishable,” Children’s Advocate Diahann Gordon-Harrison told the joint select committee reviewing several pieces of sexual abuse legislation at Gordon House on Wednesday.

She said the issue was no longer a theoretical argument within the Jamaican context, as the country has had “very painful examples in its recent past”, in which pregnant women have been murdered and the foetus expires as a result.

“The law needs to provide a commensurate response to such heinous acts,” Gordon Harrison said.

“If this offence is created, it also follows that one who is convicted in circumstances such as these would be exposed to a greater penalty than that which murder simpliciter would attract,” she explained.

The United States Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-212) recognises a child in utero as a legal victim, if they are injured or killed during the commission of any of over 60 listed federal crimes of violence.

The law applies only to certain offences over which the United States government has jurisdiction, including crimes committed on federal properties, against certain federal officials and employees, and by members of the military, as well as certain crimes defined by statute as federal offences wherever they occur. However, 38 US states also recognise the foetus or “unborn child” as a crime victim, at least for purposes of homicide or feticide.

But, the legislation has been severely criticised by some pro-abortionists, who have seen it as a first step towards granting legal personhood to human foetuses, even in cases where the bill explicitly exempt abortion.

In England and Wales, the offence is created by section 1(1) of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 which states:

“…Any person who, with intent to destroy the life of a child capable of being born alive, by any wilful act causes a child to die before it has an existence independent of its mother, shall be guilty of felony, to wit, of child destruction, and shall be liable on conviction thereof on indictment to penal servitude for life”.

— Balford Henry