Elaine Derstine, Michelle Smith and Cheryl Swanson light their candles during a vigil for Michelle Wilkins on March 22 in Longmont. (Cliff Grassmick, Daily Camera)
The circumstances that were the genesis of Senate Bill 268 were tragic. Laws like it are often proposed after such tragedies. There is an understandable need for justice for the family of Michelle Wilkins, the pregnant Longmont woman who was stabbed and had her baby removed from her womb. However, SB 268 would not have applied to this case. The defendant had no intent to harm the child to be. Quite the opposite. Therefore, the defendant didn’t fulfill the mental state requirements of the laws set forth in SB 268.
While SB 268 would not have applied in this case, Colorado does have a law that does — the Crimes Against Pregnant Women Act. The defendant is being charged with violations under this act, and those charges alone carry a 32-year sentence. With all the charges alleged against her — if she is found guilty — the defendant could be sentenced to 100 years in prison.
If SB 268 wasn’t a front-door entrance to creating fetal personhood, it certainly was a side-door one.
Denise Maes, Denver
The writer is public policy director for the ACLU of Colorado.
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