• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Christian Action League

Defending North Carolina Families and Christian Heritage

  • Home
  • About CAL
    • Our Director
    • Statement of Faith
  • Connect
  • Donate
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Pro Life
  • Marriage
  • 1st Amendment
  • Alcohol
  • Gambling
  • Marijuana
  • Rev. Creech’s Commentary
  • Other Issues
You are here: Home / Christian Action League / Ethen’s Law and Laura’s Law to Take Effect December 1st

Ethen’s Law and Laura’s Law to Take Effect December 1st

By L.A. Williams, Correspondent
Christian Action League

RALEIGH — North Carolina’s youngest, most vulnerable residents — those in utero — will gain a new status of sorts on Dec. 1, when the Unborn Victims of Violence Act takes effect.

Known as Ethen’s Law in remembrance of Ethen Nielsen, who was murdered with his mother, Jenna, in a 2007 stabbing, the law was passed in April to bring North Carolina statutes into line with those at the federal level. Like Laci and Conner’s Law, Ethen’s Law simply recognizes that when a pregnant woman is injured or killed there is more than one victim.

Some 36 states have laws that recognize the unlawful killing of an unborn child as homicide in at least some circumstances; 27 of them, like North Carolina, offer full-coverage.

Even though the law specifically notes abortion as an exception and does not apply to “acts committed by a pregnant woman with respect to her own unborn child,” it was opposed by pro-choice activists who seem to reject any law that recognizes a child in the womb as human.

“Fortunately, lawmakers looked past the ill-formed arguments of abortionists and learned from several families who testified last spring of the importance of recognizing that when a pregnant woman is hit by a drunken driver or attacked by an assailant, there are two victims,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League. “Our hope is that this law, which takes effect next month, is never applied at all. But if and when it does happen, at least North Carolina statutes now provide a way for district attorneys to prosecute these crimes.”

Laura’s Law

Also taking effect Dec. 1 is Laura’s Law, which will increase the punishment for DWI offenders with three or more grossly aggravating factors, authorizing judges to require continuous alcohol monitoring in some cases and increase court costs for those driving while impaired.

The law is named in memory of 17-year-old Laura Fortenberry who was killed in Gaston County in 2010 when the car in which she was a passenger was hit by a drunken driver with three DWIs already on his record.

“Driving while impaired remains a serious problem in North Carolina, and even a first-time drinker who gets behind the wheel can take a life,” said Dr. Creech. “But one of the many good things about this bill is that it increases the use of technology to monitor those folks who are most likely to drink and drive so that law enforcement can at least have a fighting chance to prevent accidents by stopping these potential killers in their tracks.”

The Christian Action League supported the passage of both these laws during the last session, as well as dozens of others. To find out what other legislation takes effect Dec. 1, see the attached PDF.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Christian Action League

Primary Sidebar

A Special Message from Dr. Mark Creech

Archives

Cartoons

More Cartoons

Legislative Wrap-ups

RSS ONN News

Verse of the Day

Click here to visit BRC News

Copyright © 2022 Christian Action League of North Carolina, Inc · Web Design by OptimusMedia.com · Log in

 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.