The Archdiocese of Denver took Boulder County District Attorney — and the state Legislature — to task Friday for , the woman accused of removing the 7-month-old fetus from the womb of a Longmont woman, with murder.
In a news conference Friday, DA Stan Garnett said that without proof that the unborn child ever lived outside the womb, under Colorado law, Lane could not be charged with murder in the attack on Michelle Wilkins on March 18.
The 34-year-old Lane was charged Friday with eight felony counts in the attack, including first-degree unlawful termination of pregnancy and first-degree attempted murder.
However, in a statement issued by the Archdiocese, Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquila called the decision not to file murder charges, “a travesty of justice.”
“Many cannot understand how such a situation could be possible in Colorado,” Aquila wrote in the statement. “People from around the country and here in Colorado hear and read about this tragedy and cannot comprehend why Ms. Lane would not be charged for the murder of baby Aurora. The answer is just as inadequate as the Colorado law. Colorado law sadly does not recognize the unborn child as a person capable of having a crime, such as homicide, perpetrated against it.”
Aquila went on to say that “it is up to each one of us to call upon our elected officials to enact laws that recognize the fact that the unborn can in fact be victims of horrendous crimes such as homicide.”
Colorado Senate President Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, said Friday that .