Brizzi: Unborn Child Should Be Considered A Person In Murder Cases

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(INDIANAPOLIS) - Marion County prosecutor Carl Brizzi wants state law changed so an unborn child is considered a person under the state’s murder statute.

Brizzi's proposal was prompted by the shooting of Huntington Bank teller Katherin Shuffield. She was wounded during a bank robbery and later lost her five month old twins. The gunman is still at large.

Under current law, an unborn baby is not considered viable until the seventh month, so the person who shot Shuffield will not face a murder charge. Brizzi says his proposal deals with criminal intent and not reproductive rights.

State Representative Mike Murphy and Senator Jim Merritt plan to introduce a bill in the 2009 legislative session to eliminate the viability standard from the state statute, elevating the crime to murder.

Now the most he could get for the crime is eight years in prison, the same penalty as a burglary conviction.

Brizzi says 35 states have defined an unborn child as a fetus at any stage of development, regardless of viability.

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