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Judge detains pregnant Mexican deportee because fetus is U.S. citizen
Physician Practice Advisor, June 1, 2004
Last week, Missouri U.S. District Judge Scott Wright prohibited the deportation of Myrna Dick-a pregnant Mexican citizen who is married to a U. S. citizen-who falsely claimed her own U.S. citizenship. Wright ruled that Dick's fetus is a U.S. citizen who may be protected under the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, according to a June 1 report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
According to the act, when a violent crime is committed against a pregnant woman that results in injury to the fetus, injuries to the woman and the fetus are counted as separate crimes. The act applies to federal violent crimes, crimes committed under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, or crimes committed on federal land.
The move is causing some raised eyebrows around the country.
Lee Cohen, a spokesperson for the act's co-sponsor, Rep. Melissa Hart from Pennsylvania, disagreed with Judge Wright. "If no violence was committed against a pregnant woman, the law doesn't apply," Cohen said.
Rekha Sharma-Crawford, Dick's attorney says the ruling raises questions about the scope of the act. "I think the question the court was asking was whether that law creates a legal right for the fetus to remain in this country," Sharma-Crawford said.
For more information, click here. http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_repro.cfm#23979
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