Lufkin dad charged with murder in deaths of stillborn twins
It started as an attempt to chip away at abortion rights. Time will tell what form Texas' new fetal protection law will take. As with most any attempt to remake the social contract via the legislative process, beware the law of unintended consequences.
LUFKIN - An East Texas man has been indicted on murder charges after his girlfriend delivered twin sons stillborn following an alleged beating from him.
An Angelina County grand jury indicted Gerardo Flores on the murder counts Tuesday, according to a story in today's editions of The Lufkin Daily News.
The case against the 18-year-old Lufkin High School student is believed to be the first to be prosecuted under a new state law concerning the deaths of a fetus.
The case began May 7 when Flores allegedly hit his 16-year-old girlfriend in the abdomen, according to a police affidavit. The affidavit said the girl was five months' pregnant at the time. The affidavit says she delivered the boys dead at home early the next morning.
History will neither exalt nor long remember Gerardo Flores. His actions were clearly of a criminal nature, and he deserves to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. My question, though, is with the intent of this law. Do Texas' Social Conservatives fully understand what the unintended consequences of a law such as this might be? Do anti-abortion zealots really care anything for the law, or are they merely interested in taking advantage of any opportunity to legislate in support of their narrow little interest?
It may take two, five, perhaps ten years for the full impact of this law to be felt. Be careful what you ask for, y'all. You just might get it, but you may not necssarily like the precedents that come with it.
