# Conn. Supreme Court: Fetus Is Body Part **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 7, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785 "2003-05-07T23:42:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785/1 "2003-05-07T23:42:16Z")
Well I’m glad we cleared that up! Now we can get back to our busy, busy lives. > [@](#): > > HARTFORD, Conn. - Angering both sides of the abortion debate, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a fetus is a body part, akin to teeth, skin and hair that are eventually shed. > > The ruling unanimously upheld the conviction of a man who tried to induce a miscarriage by slipping his girlfriend labor-inducing drugs. Edwin Sandoval argued he could not be charged with attempting to commit aggravated assault because the fetus was the target, not the mother. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785/2 "2003-05-08T00:04:30Z")
Yep ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785/3 "2003-05-08T00:15:14Z")
"The family of Laci Peterson Wednesday endorsed a bill being introduced on Capitol Hill that would allow a violent crime against a pregnant woman to be treated as crimes against two separate people. " If this passes, it would only apply to federal cases. Just for your information. ---
**Author:** ![X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbe5ce/32.png) [@X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X_Slayer_ALE)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785/4 "2003-05-08T00:30:45Z")
\*\* astro\*\* Please pop me a link to that article you quoted. I’d like to read more about it. You left out a very important part of the arguement which is when does the “body part” become a separate and independent human being. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785/5 "2003-05-08T00:38:20Z")
per Google, see [here](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/05/07/national1902EDT0793.DTL) ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785/6 "2003-05-08T00:41:39Z")
Full opinion available [here](http://www.jud.state.ct.us/external/supapp/aro.htm#Supreme) as pdf files. (State v Sandoval, obviously) ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785/7 "2003-05-08T00:49:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by autz \* > \*\*"The family of Laci Peterson Wednesday endorsed a bill being introduced on Capitol Hill that would allow a violent crime against a pregnant woman to be treated as crimes against two separate people. " > > If this passes, it would only apply to federal cases. > > Just for your information. \*\* I would be in favor of making a violent crime against a pregnant woman more severely penalized. If you murder a woman while she is pregnant, for example, I think that would be a good aggravating circumstance to make the killer eligible for the death penalty. However, I still think the crime is only done on one person. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785/8 "2003-05-08T01:54:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Blalron \* > \*\*I would be in favor of making a violent crime against a pregnant woman more severely penalized. If you murder a woman while she is pregnant, for example, I think that would be a good aggravating circumstance to make the killer eligible for the death penalty. > > However, I still think the crime is only done on one person. \*\* Doesn’t that push us into “hate crime” territory? Where the crime is no “worse” than another crime but we’re going to say it’s worse without really explaining why? Julie ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785/9 "2003-05-08T02:00:32Z")
Well, personally, I’d like to see something like, “involuntary abortion”, or something like that. Because to purposely induce a miscarriage on a women is taking away her right to choose. D’uh. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785/10 "2003-05-08T02:07:53Z")
Wait: was the Petersen case itself federal? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785/11 "2003-05-08T02:12:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\*Because to purposely induce a miscarriage on a women is taking away her right to choose. D’uh. \*\* Well, sure. And killing her would tend to muck up the whole choice thing, too. Julie ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785/12 "2003-05-08T02:20:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Apos \* > \*\*Wait: was the Petersen case itself federal? \*\* No, and California (where the crime took place) already has a law that calls what happened a crime against 2 persons. But about half the states have no such law. so the Peterson family is just looking to expand the law a little. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785/13 "2003-05-08T02:21:46Z")
Oops, [link](http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/05/07/laci.bill/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785/14 "2003-05-08T02:23:01Z")
Oh, well, naturally. I was just commenting on the first case mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785/15 "2003-05-08T03:04:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jsgoddess \* > \*\*Doesn’t that push us into “hate crime” territory? Where the crime is no “worse” than another crime but we’re going to say it’s worse without really explaining why? > > Julie \*\* Kind of, but not exactly. It would be a way for the state to express its outrage at the particular heinousness of killing a pregnant woman. It’s not unheard of to have greater punishments for killing people under particular conditions. Aggravating circumstances that make murder worse. For example, in Oregon killing somebody who is under 14 or killing a police officer are “aggravating circumstances” that can mean the difference between life with parole and getting life without parole or death. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conn-supreme-court-fetus-is-body-part/173785/16 "2003-05-08T03:41:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\*Oh, well, naturally. I was just commenting on the first case mentioned. \*\* Sorry. I should have included a 🙂 but it just seemed kinda crass considering the subject matter! Julie