A Tale of Two Tragedies  
Two accidents may help change the way Kentucky defines “personhood”
From, The Kentucky Citizen Digest, September/October, 2001.

On March 24, as Veroni ca Jane Thornsbury, 22, of Kimper was on her way to the hospital to deliver a baby girl, Charles Christophe r Morris, ran a red light and struck the Thornsbury vehicle, driven by Veronica’s husband, Troy. The crash killed both mother and baby. “The baby was ready to come into this world,” said Troy Thornsbury. “And the only thing that stopped her was Charles Morris.”

Kentucky courts have not recognized unborn babies as persons, making it impossible to prosecute for criminal acts against them. But Pike County Attorney Howard Keith Hall decided to pursue a murder charge for both mother and child because there is no precedent for murder in the process of labor. “We think that small factor will make the difference in a murder case,” Hall told a local paper. “This is the case people have been looking for nationally.”

Morris’ attorney, Stephen Owens, has filed a petition to dismiss the second murder charge. Owens is relying on the “born alive rule,” an 18-year-old Kentucky court ruling, which says that a fetus is not legally a person until birth.

Critics of the “born alive rule” say legal and factual contradictions show there is a need for clearer laws defining when human life begins. Civil and property law recognize unborn children as persons, as do a number of federal laws.

One such critic is Michael Janocik, spokesman for Kentucky Right to Life. “Why do expectant mothers pursue a cautious lifestyle and regularly seek prenatal care if there isn’t another human being dependent upon them?” asked Janocik. “Indeed, failure to protect unborn children from criminal acts is tantamount to denying their existence at all.”

A three-year-old case further muddles the supposed fetus/person distinction. On March 3, 1998 Alexandra Fitch was eight months pregnant and on her way to a pre-natal checkup when she was fatally injured in a two-car collision. Her baby was successfully delivered by emergency cesarean section, although Fitch died the next day, not knowing she had given birth to a baby girl.

Similarities between the Fitch and Thornsbury cases are uncanny. Both were in their last trimester of pregnancy, and on the way to the hospital. Both were killed in car crashes, and both babies were delivered by emergency cesarean section. But fetal-rights-advocates contend the significant difference between the cases is more profound than the fact that the Fitch baby lived while the Thornsbury baby did not.

The Fitch baby was recognized as a person simply because she had been able to take a breath on her own—a difference that some believe should not be the deciding factor in whether a crime has been committed against a person.

State Rep. Tom Kerr, D-Taylor Mills, promises to introduce a bill to remedy this questionable distinction of personhood in the 2002 General Assembly. “This underscores why we need a law protecting unborn children and defining when human life begin,” Kerr said. Kerr introduced legislation to do just that last session, but was unsuccessful in getting it to a vote.

The outcome of the Thornsbury case will likely be decided by the State Supreme Court. In the meantime, Robert Justice, the Thornsbury baby’s great uncle, is taking his case to the court of public opinion. “You can look at that picture and decide whether it’s a fetus or a person,” Justice said, pointing to a picture of the baby girl the Thornsburys had named Haley Natasha—even before she was born.
 
 

Key Family Foundation Contacts: Kent Ostrander , Executive Director Martin Cothran , Senior Associate Policy Analyst