Media Contact Dorothy Yeung, Triangle Right to Life Chair trtl.chair@gmail.com (919) 257-9916
FAMILIES OF NC MURDER VICTIMS PLEAD FOR UNBORN VICTIMS LAW Press conference to be held in Chapel Hill on Saturday, Oct 31 at 11:00 am
(Chapel Hill, NC), October 28, 2009--On Saturday, October 31st, three families will be speaking in support of “The Unborn Victims of Violence” Act. The Unborn Victims Act would bring these families justice by recognizing, in law, the unborn child as a second victim when a pregnant woman and her unborn baby are murdered. The law would allow the State to prosecute for two murders instead of just one. The laws of thirty-five other states recognize the unborn child as a second victim. To learn more about Unborn Victims of Violence laws, please visit: www.nrlc.org/Unborn_victims/index.html
WHERE: Chapel Hill Public Library, 100 Library Drive Chapel Hill, NC 27514 WHEN: Saturday, October 31, 2009, 11:00 am WHO: (Please See Below)
Michele Dye: Michele is mother of Lucy Johnson and grandmother to the 15 week old unborn baby she was carrying. Lucy and her unborn baby were brutally murdered on July 16, 2008. She was raped, shot twice in the back of the head, and her house was set on fire to cover-up the crime.
Kevin Blaine: Kevin is the father of Jennifer (“Jenna”) Nielsen. Jenna was 8 and 1/2 months pregnant with her unborn son, Ethen, when, on June 14, 2007, they were both murdered in Raleigh, NC, while on her early morning delivery route of USA today. To date, no killer has been apprehended, and the family continues to seek public assistance in helping to solve the case. http://justice4jenna.weebly.com/index.html
Effie Steele: Effie is the mother of murdered victim Ebony Robinson, and her beloved grandson, Elijah. Ebony was only 21-years-old when she was shot and murdered in Hillsborough, NC. Ebony’s unborn son, Elijah, would have been born only a few short weeks later. Ebony and Elijah were laid to rest in two separate caskets. http://www.ebonyandelijah.com/
ABOUT TRIANGLE RIGHT TO LIFE:
Triangle Right to Life is the Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill area chapter of North Carolina Right to Life, Inc., a state affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee. Triangle Right to Life supports the legal protection of all innocent human life from conception to natural death. Please visit: http://www.trianglerighttolife.org/home.html.
For most of us, the sight of a pregnant woman – at the mall, strolling through the park, or at our church – elicits feelings of warmth, happiness, and peace. Doors are excitedly opened, helping hands outstretched, bus seats generously offered. The world tends to “stop” for just one moment to acknowledge this wonderful miracle – the miraculous gift of another human life growing right before our very eyes.
A pregnant woman is a beautiful sight. Despite the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy (and yes, they can be complicated), one might have to admit, upon seeing her swollen belly and contemplating the mysterious and wonderful life within her, that maybe, just maybe, at least for now, all is right with the world.
Imagine living in a place where pregnant women, instead of being honored, defended, and supported, are targeted, brutally murdered, and tossed into ditches, set on fire, or buried in backyards. Sound too grisly to even contemplate? You don’t have to, because here in NC, killing pregnant women has become an epidemic. In recent years, ten (10) pregnant women and their unborn babies have been barbarically murdered, their once life-giving bodies left lifeless and cold on street corners and ditches. These are the ones that have been reported and that we know about. How many other unborn babies have been murdered that have gone unreported? We'll probably never know that.
Think it’s a coincidence that North Carolina is one of only fifteen (15) states that refuses to recognize a second victim in these crimes? Unlikely. How convenient for the killers – to face only one charge of murder- instead of two. It’s not as though “Unborn Victims of Violence” laws are found only in conservative states in the South. Even one of the most liberal states in the union – California – has deemed pregnant women and their unborn children to be two separate victims and each worthy of protection under the law.
What does it say about North Carolina when a fifteen year old child who is eight (8) months pregnant is shot in the head in cold blood and left for dead at her school bus stop? Young Tiffany Wright and her baby never had a voice.
Where is the outrage? Where is the legislation? Would Tiffany and her baby still be here today if Deborah Ross, Chairwoman of the powerful Judiciary Committee, had chosen to give House Bill 890 - the Unborn Victims of Violence Bill - a hearing? What if Speaker Joe Hackney decided that both women and their unborn babies are worthy of protection in NC and made that a legislative priority? Sadly, we will never know. Year after year, Hackney ensures that The Unborn Victims of Violence Act goes to Deborah Ross’s hostile Judiciary Committee. In the name of "choice," Ross then dutifully kills the bill by not allowing a healthy debate or even a recorded vote. How can two individuals wield so much power in a democratic republic?
The abortion lobby has successfully stopped the bill in its tracks year after year with the lie that an Unborn Victims bill would threaten abortion rights. The public and its elected representatives deserve to know that every court to ever review these laws has determined they have nothing to do with abortion whatsoever. Just look at the other thirty-five (35) states with Unborn Victims laws if you are concerned about the right to abortion and you will find it remains safe and sound throughout all nine months of pregnancy.
Walter Dellinger, a former solicitor general with the Clinton administration who teaches at Duke University, says that, although he is a strong advocate for a woman’s right to choose abortion, he sees no major problem with the fetal-homicide laws. “I don't think they undermine Roe v. Wade,” he said. “The legislatures can decide that fetuses are deserving of protection without having to make any judgment that the entity being protected has freestanding constitutional rights. I just think that proposals like this ought to be considered on their own merit.”
Protecting women and their unborn babies has nothing to do with abortion. Sadly, if legislation protecting both mother and child is not passed in NC, our state will continue to be a safe haven for murderers.
For court decisions and a detailed list of Unborn Victims laws, go here.
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2009 Slayings of Pregnant Women
Tiffany Wright – (2009) Charlotte, NC / Tiffany was 8 mos pregnant
Misty Lynn Carter – (Oct. 2009) Buncome County,NC/ Misty was 6 wks pregnant/
Previous Slayings of Pregnant Women in NC
Megan Touma – (2008) Fayetteville, NC / Megan was 7 mos pregnant
Lucy Johnson –(2008) Gastonia, NC / Lucy was 15 wks pregnant
Triangle Right to Life was formed on May 16, 2009. We seek to build a culture of life in the Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill area. We oppose embryonic stem cell research, abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, and assisted suicide with a non-partisan, non-sectarian approach.
Shortly after our founding meeting, we were approved by the Board of North Carolina Right to Life as an official chapter of North Carolina Right to Life. Since then, we have been busy!
We have voted in our our own board, hosted an ice cream social, formed a website, blog, and even ventured into Facebook and Twitter to get the pro-life message out. One of our board members, Deanna Jones Falchook, launched her Amazon best-seller book, "To Be a Mother," while our Vice Chair, Pamela Suggs, successfully wrote, promoted, and starred in the compelling pro-life play, "A Favored Life."
On October 4th, many Triangle Right to Lifers proudly participated in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill Life Chain event - a peaceful, prayerful protest against the violence of abortion. We are currently supporting North Carolina Right to Life's annual pro-life booth at thestate fair by providing volunteers and administrative support, and we look forward to many, many more upcoming opportunities to identify and strengthen the right to life voice in North Carolina.
We look forward to seeing you on January 16th at 10 am at the Annual Prayer Breakfast in Raleigh (Holiday Inn Brownstone), followed by the Rally and March for Life at Nash Square. Please check this blog for updates on local events, legislation or other blogworthy pro-life news. (Eventually, we will be using our website to update you but until then, please come here for updates!)
Please consider becoming a member of Triangle Right to Life! You can do so by emailing Dorothy Yeung at trtl.chair@gmail.com.
In the meantime, please enjoy some pictures of our Triangle Right to Life-ers in Action!
Amy Hutton, Birthmother and Triangle Right to Life Media Relations Director, shares her own personal story of placing her daughter in an open adoption:
Deanna Jones Falchook shares about the beautiful calling of Motherhood for women:
There's only one proper way to kick off Triangle Right to Life -- with ice cream!
Durham Right to Lifers peacefully protest abortion on a crowded street in Durham:
Triangle Right to Life is the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill area chapter of North Carolina Right to Life, a state affiliate of National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) in Washington, DC. We, along with over 3,000 NRLC chapters nationwide, peacefully advocate for the protection of innocent human life from conception to natural death. Through education and legislation, we oppose embryonic stem cell research, abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, and assisted suicide.
