Fetal homicide bill defeated by Democrats not a Trojan horse for personhood, sponsor says
Update: As we reported yesterday, a fetal homicide bill sponsored by Republican Representative Janak Joshi was defeated along party lines, with Democrats saying they plan to bring forward a measure that accomplishes similar goals without being a "Trojan horse" for personhood; see our original coverage below. After our post was published, we received an e-mail from House Republicans saying that House Democrats had misinterpreted Joshi's bill.
According to the e-mail, our post didn't make clear Joshi's true intentions, which did not have to do with personhood. We offered to chat with Joshi about the confusion over his bill and his relationship with Personhood USA, which testified in favor of it.
At the hearing Monday, Joshi said his bill was "about criminal justice" -- a point he reiterated during an interview with Westword. "There's nothing here about criminalizing abortions," he says. The purpose, he says, is to protect women during the "vulnerable" state of pregnancy.
An image from the Personhood USA website.
"The other side keeps saying this is a back-door to personhood," Joshi says. "No. This is to protect women from perpetrators."
As for his connection with Personhood USA, Joshi says that group is just one of several, including the Fraternal Order of Police, that were supporting his bill. He says he spoke at the press conference to answer questions about what happened.
As for the Democrats' bill, Joshi says he's only glanced through it. If he has questions, he'll approach the bill's sponsors, who he says didn't share the details with him before introducing it.
Continue to read our previous coverage of Representative Janak Joshi's fetal homicide bill.
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