On The Front Lines
Rutherford Institute Urges Virginia Legislature to Pass HB 1440, Create a Civil Cause of Action for the Wrongful Death of an Unborn Child
RICHMOND, Va.--The Rutherford Institute is urging Virginia's House of Delegates to pass legislation that would create a civil cause of action for the wrongful death of an unborn child. The Commonwealth is one of only fifteen (15) states that do not recognize this civil cause of action already. After debating the bill last Friday, the House Committee on Courts of Justice voted 14-7 to report the bill to the floor of the House, and a vote is scheduled to take place tomorrow.
A copy of the Institute's memorandum to the Virginia House of Delegates regarding HB 1440 is available here.
"The legislature should create a legal recourse for parents whose unborn child is killed through the wrongful act of a third party. Parents develop deep bonds of love and attachment to their children well before birth," stated John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "It is appropriate for these foundational family ties to be legally recognized and protected."
House Bill 1440 is the civil counterpart to the fetal homicide statute passed by the General Assembly in 2004. The bill is modeled after a statute that has been in effect in Missouri since 1986. In fact, the language of the two laws is substantively identical, with the exception of a section added to the Virginia bill by Delegate David Albo (R-Fairfax) to clarify the fact that in vitro fertilization procedures are not impacted. Great care was taken to ensure the bill's constitutionality, as well as to assuage any fears that it would diminish or supersede the Commonwealth's existing abortion statutes or interfere with the use of oral contraception or with women's health care decisions. Section 6 of HB 1440 ensures that pregnant women will not become the subjects of lawsuits based on their activities during pregnancy.
The law would be a mere rule of construction that will inform the interpretation of statutes where the legislature's intent is unclear, such as Virginia's wrongful death statute, VA. CODE ANN. § 8.01-50.. Abortion practices will continue to be governed by VA. CODE ANN. § 18.2-71 et seq. and will be unaffected by the law. Finally, and most critically, Institute attorneys point out that HB 1440 is not a criminal statute, and in no case could be used to make currently lawful activities illegal because it would not provide such specific notice of prohibited activity as to comport with the United States Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment Due Process requirements.
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