The Colorado woman who cut out the unborn child from the mother’s womb won’t face murder charges in the shocking attack that sparked new discussions whether a fetus should be considered a human being or not.
The decision was not explained by prosecutors on Thursday March 26. There is currently no information regarding the charges still applied as a result of the woman’s crime. The victim, who was in her 8th month of pregnancy survived the attack and was released from hospital on Wednesday March 25. Her then unborn baby girl died.
On March 18, victim Michelle Wilkins, 26, met with Dynel Lane, 34 at the suspect’s home. Michelle was answering to an ad posted on Craigslist regarding the sale of baby clothes. Once inside, Lane stabbed the soon-to-be mother and removed the fetus from her womb.
Lane had been telling her family she was expecting a baby and was supposed to meet that day with her husband for a prenatal appointment. Her husband came home early to find her wife covered in blood and a baby in the bathtub. She told her husband she suffered from a miscarriage. He took both his wife and the infant to the hospital where it was pronounced dead.
According to Catherine Olguin, spokeswoman for the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office, prosecution did not bring murder accusations in regards to the baby’s death. More information will be revealed once the baby’s autopsy is released.
This dramatic event sparked new discussions on the subject of murder accusations in situations that lead to the violent death unborn babies.
In the current situation, the act led to the baby’s death but Colorado is one of the 12 states that lack fetal homicide laws. In 2013, such a law was rejected due to concerns it would interfere with women’s abortion rights.
There is, however, a law according to which an act that results in the violent death of a mother’s fetus is considered a crime and could be punished with a maximum sentence of 32 years in prison. By comparison, a person guilty of homicide in Colorado risks the death penalty or can be convicted to life in prison without parole possibilities.
Supporters consider the crime proves there is a need for fetal homicide laws.
Image Source: Fox 31
