WHEREAS the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act" (HR 2436/SR 1382) under consideration in the United States Congress treats the mother as a separate person from the fetus, in essence raising the status of the fetus to that of a person for law enforcement purposes, the first piece of Federal legislation to make this distinction; and
WHEREAS Jewish law does not recognize the fetus as an independent person as is made clear in Exodus 21:22-23; and