Quote:
Originally Posted by LubeMaster77
Question 1 - If a pregnant women is struck by a drunk driver and looses her unborn would the driver be convicted of murder or manslaughter?
Question 2 - If a pregnant women is killed and they catch the prep, is it a double homocide?
Question 3 - If a pregnant women ODs on pills, doesn't die but the baby does is it homocide or manslaughter?
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First, a bit of clarification. The term, "homicide" applies to all the scenarios because it simply means the death of a human being due to the actions of another. Murder (and there are various "degrees" of murder) and manslaughter are
types of homicide that carry legal consequences. Therefore, killing
anyone under
any circumstances is a homicide but the circumstances determine if the homicide is a punishable crime or even a crime at all.
What you are really asking in your scenarios is whether or not the baby/fetus is legally a
human being and that is the area of controversy. As stated in previous posts, each state sets the standards for homicide and has to define the meaning of human being. Most have opted to determine that when a fetus is a "viable human being"--meaning it has developed to a point where it is possible to survive on its own outside the womb (including the use of artificial measures as incubators)--it is protected, legally. So your questions are really designed to provoke thought and discussion on the determination of when a human being exists, and that is a discussion that could run for pages and pages without any consensus.