After 7 states in America enacted laws prohibiting the termination of pregnancy if the embryo has a detectable heartbeat (around 6 weeks of gestation), there was an interesting court ruling in Alabama, one of the states that implemented this law…
A 27-year-old woman (Jones) who was 5 months pregnant was shot in the stomach by a 23-year-old woman (Jamison) due to a dispute. Jones was taken to the hospital, she was safe, but the baby in her womb died.
In this case, what should the verdict be? Let’s look at the court’s decision in this case… under the new law.
Jones (the pregnant woman) was charged with the murder of the fetus and sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Jamison (the shooter) was fined but not imprisoned! Because… the investigation concluded that the real victim was the fetus. Jones initiated the altercation, leading Jamison to defend herself by shooting back. In other words, Jones was at fault for being pregnant and getting into a fight with someone else, and this action resulted in the death of her unborn child.
Stunned… It’s not surprising that the verdict in this case
was unacceptable to human rights activists in the country, prompting them to take action by raising the issue that
Today… Jones was charged with murder for being pregnant and getting shot in a dispute with someone with a gun.
Tomorrow… another pregnant woman might be charged with attempted murder for drinking alcohol while pregnant. And
later… another pregnant woman might be arrested simply for not attending prenatal care as scheduled.
Comparable to characters in the novel The Handmaid’s Tale
where women are reduced to being merely “tools for reproduction.”
Read the full English version at: https://bit.ly/2xv6A95
Read the news about this law (in Thai) at: https://voicetv.co.th/read/fVQ20515X