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Man who stabbed pregnant woman won’t be prosecuted for death of her unborn baby

A man who stabbed a pregnant woman multiple times in Belgium will not be prosecuted for the death of her unborn baby.

On Monday, in the Belgian province of Liège, a man, named only as Aslan, stabbed a woman numerous times in the face and neck after an argument broke out. The mother is currently in hospital in intensive care, but her unborn baby did not survive.

The man has been arrested and charged with attempted murder but prosecutors say no charge can be brought for the death of the unborn baby because the baby was not yet recognised as a person under Belgian criminal law.

“A choice we make”

Criminal lawyer Rik Vanreusel told the BBC that in Belgium a baby in his or her mother’s womb does not exist as a legal entity. This means that if someone were to harm or kill an unborn child, intentionally or not, there are no grounds for prosecution.

He said this legal principle about unborn babies was “a choice we make” and noted that abortion was one reason why the law was structured in this way.

Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson, said: “It is unsurprising that a society that values abortion cannot, at the same time, value the life of the child who dies through an assault on his or her mother”.

“Belgium’s law, callous as it is, is at least consistent. It accords no status to the life of the unborn child whose life can be ended legally or illegally without any means to prosecute those who are responsible. If only the law was instead consistent in its regard for life in and outside the womb”.

Dear reader,

You may be surprised to learn that our 24-week abortion time limit is out of line with the majority of European Union countries, where the most common time limit for abortion on demand or on broad social grounds is 12 weeks gestation.

The latest guidance from the British Association of Perinatal Medicine enables doctors to intervene to save premature babies from 22 weeks. The latest research indicates that a significant number of babies born at 22 weeks gestation can survive outside the womb, and this number increases with proactive perinatal care.

This leaves a real contradiction in British law. In one room of a hospital, doctors could be working to save a baby born alive at 23 weeks whilst, in another room of that same hospital, a doctor could perform an abortion that would end the life of a baby at the same age.

The majority of the British population support reducing the time limit. Polling has shown that 70% of British women favour a reduction in the time limit from 24 weeks to 20 weeks or below.

Please click the button below to sign the petition to the Prime Minister, asking him to do everything in his power to reduce the abortion time limit.