Fetus death bill clears Iowa House

Quad-City Times

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DES MOINES - A bill that would allow prosecutors to charge people responsible for the death of an unborn child with crimes as serious as first-degree murder cleared the Iowa House on Tuesday.

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Anti-abortion advocates say the new law would reflect the value that should be placed on the lives of unborn children and protect pregnant women from becoming a target of violence. Opponents of the bill say it is a backdoor attempt to erode abortion rights for women and create legal rights for a fetus, even though the legislation contains an exemption for legal abortions.

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The U.S. Congress recently passed similar legislation, the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act," that was signed into law last week by pResident Bush.

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Rep. Don Shoultz, D-Waterloo, who opposed the bill, said unborn children are not treated the same as people in other areas of state law so they should not be in Iowa's criminal laws either. For example, unborn children are not issued Social Security numbers and cannot be deducted from a parent’s income taxes, he said. "Our laws are very definite about that, so our laws should be consistent here," he said.

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Passage of the bill on a 63-36 vote sends it to Gov. Tom Vilsack for consideration.  (more)

DeanCorps

 

Here is a DeanCorps project that has just gotten off the ground.  Founded on March 24, 2004 and now comprised of 17 members, the Blankets for America Project is made up of supporters of Howard Dean and his progressive agenda.  They work together to make blankets and quilts for children who are at risk, live in shelters, or otherwise need support.

DeanCorps is an action arm of Democracy for America.  Howard Dean's governorship was marked by support for families and children and DeanCorps celebrates this crucial emphasis by offering this service to our communities.

 

To join Blankets for America, go to:

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BlanketsforAmerica/

 

When you sign up, I would strongly advise you select the Daily Digest rather than the Individual Emails option.  These people send a lot of messages—over 100 per month!  A nice way to keep in touch!

At your Meet Up tonight, please hand out this flyer about the

March For Women's Lives on April 25, 2004.

 

Here is a guest post from Gina Angiola, who is coordinating the DFA Delegation to the March For Women’s Lives (April 25, 2004, Washington, D.C.)

---

 

We are officially registered with the March

office in DC as the Democracy For America delegation.

There may actually be several such delegations

registered, as many individuals started thinking along

these lines simultaneously in different parts of the

country, but we are encouraging everyone to join

together at the event so we can show just how large

and active the "Dean movement" still is. At present,

we have over 150 confirmed participants and we are

planning to meet at the National Mall at 10 a.m. Two

official Democracy For America banners have been

ordered, which will help everyone identify our

location. In addition, there will be hundreds of

volunteers from the March guiding people to the site

for their delegation. (Information about the "grid,"

which will identify where each delegation will be

located, will not be available until shortly before

the event itself.)

 

A group of about 11 people in DC, MD, and VA have come together as an "impromptu steering committee" to work to grow this into the thousands. We hope to

have a website operational within the next day or two

to allow new participants to sign up directly online.

Those of you who have sent me an e-mail will not need

to sign up via the website, but if you find other Dean

supporters who have not yet registered, please do

refer them to that site.

 

We have also set up a yahoo group to facilitate

communications regarding this event exclusively. I

would encourage everyone to sign up for this group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DFAMarchDelegation

 

We are working on coordinating housing for those who

may be coming from distant states and wish to avoid

hotels. If any of you need a place to stay, please

send me an e-mail and I shall forward it to the

committee member in charge of housing. Finally, we are

hoping to put together some sort of social event the

evening before the March and/or possibly the morning

of the event, such as a very early breakfast.

 

In answer to the most frequently asked question "Is

Gov. Dean coming?" - I would like to let you all know

that both he and his wife, Dr. Steinberg, have been

invited to join our delegation. It is unclear at this

point whether he will march with the delegation;

however, he is tentatively scheduled to be at this

event in some capacity. It is unlikely that his wife

will be. I am hoping that, whatever the circumstances

of his participation in the April 25th event, we will

be there in huge numbers to show our ongoing support

for the movement he started to "take back our country" and to show our commitment to protecting women here and around the globe.

 

I would like to thank everyone again for signing on to

this delegation. Please use whatever grassroots

networks you have among fellow Dean supporters to

spread news of the DFA delegation far and wide. This

March for Women's Lives is going to be a phenomenal

event and what better way to participate than with

fellow Dean enthusiasts! I look forward to meeting you

next month!

 

Gina Angiola

Montgomery County (Olney), MD

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March For Women's Lives

 

When: Sunday, April 25th, 2004

 

Where: National Mall near Smithsonian Museums in Washington, D.C.

 

What: A national Democracy for America delegation will be marching as part of the March for Women's Lives  (see www.marchforwomen.org)

 

Event Times: Assembly on Mall 10 AM

Morning Entertainment/Speeches 10AM-12PM

March starts: 12 PM

Afternoon Entertainment/Speeches 1-5 PM

 

Register: Email Gina at angirapp@aol.com to sign up to march with the DFA delegation.  

 

This is set to be an historic march with an estimated attendance of 1 million people.  Join fellow Dean supporters in your Democracy for America gear (shirts, buttons, etc.) or colors (blue and gold) on Sunday, April 25th as we march in support of reproductive choice, justice, and freedom.