CAMPBELL CO. - In 107 days, Virginia law will no longer allow a mother to get away with murdering her newborn baby.
"It took us all 60 days to get it done, but now it is on the governor's desk.", says State Senator Steve Newman.
Newman pushed for the legislation that says the fact the umbilical cord and placenta are still attached will not be considered when determining if a baby has a life independent of the mother. Newman sponsored the bill after Campbell Co. investigators say a woman smothered her newborn in December. She could not be charged under current code, which says a baby does not have a separate life if the umbilical cord and placenta are still attached.
In December, then governor-elect Bob McDonnell told WSLS he was eager to get this legislation.
"I'd be delighted to sign that bill.", said McDonnell. "If they want to put an emergency clause on it, to get it passed immediately, I'd sign it right away."
The legislation, however, was not passed with the original emergency enactment clause that would allow it to become law now, instead of July 1.
"Unfortunately in the compromise there was some disagreement between the senate and the house on the final language, so we could not put the emergency clause on it.", says Newman. "The disagreement is whether or not we attack a broader issue of born alive and independent existence or attack a problem that's come up here locally, which is whether or not the umbilical cord is still attached and the placenta is in place and the taking of the life. So we were able to deal with the latter issue and that hopefully solves our problem."
"I would have liked to have seen it go across the governor's desk as soon as the senate and the house voted to make the changes in it.", says Campbell County Sheriff Terry Gaddy.
Gaddy is grateful this legislation passed, but would have liked to see it become law sooner.
"Because something might happen tomorrow.", says Gaddy. "I never want to go out, determine the facts on a homicide, that I've deemed a homicide, present it to the Commonwealth's Attorney and him look at me and say this is going to fall through the crack."
Newman says a future legislature needs to take up the 'born alive' issue to update the current code section.
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