Justice for the Unborn Terror Victim

Sunday, November 15, 2009

EDITORIAL: Justice for the unborn terror victim

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was charged with 13 counts of murder for the Fort Hood massacre, but 14 persons were killed. Army Pvt. Francheska Velez, a 21-year-old Chicago native, was six weeks pregnant when she was gunned down. Her unborn child is the 14th victim, but the death so far has been ignored by our government.

Weeks before the Nov. 5 shooting at Fort Hood, Velez had been driving fuel tankers in Iraq when she learned she was pregnant. Because of the good news, she rotated home early to take an assignment outside of the war zone. She had come to the room where the terrorist struck to fill out paperwork related to her pregnancy. Had she not been pregnant, she still would have been half a world away serving in Iraq at the time of the shootings.

Maj. Hasan can and should be held responsible for killing Velez's unborn child. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act was passed in 2004 to cover these specific circumstances. The law provides that a person, like Maj. Hasan, charged with murder under section 918 of Title 10 of the U.S. Code who caused the death of "a child, who is in utero at the time the conduct takes place, is guilty of a separate offense under this section and shall, upon conviction, be punished by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct."

The law is also known as "Laci and Conner's Law," after Laci Peterson, who was pregnant with a son to be named Conner when she was murdered by Scott Peterson in 2002.

The law covers unborn children "at any stage of development," so the fact that Velez's unborn child was six weeks old brings the statute in force. The law does not require that the shooter, in this case Maj. Hasan, "had knowledge or should have had knowledge that the victim of the underlying offense was pregnant" or that he "intended to cause the death of, or bodily injury to, the unborn child." Had he intentionally killed the unborn child, he would be tried under a separate murder charge. Recognition of the additional victim is not a capital offense, though Maj. Hasan currently faces 13 capital murder charges.

Investigators at Fort Hood are considering whether the Unborn Victims of Violence Act applies to this case. No life lost during the terrorist attack on Fort Hood should be forgotten. We urge the Army to pursue justice for Velez's unborn child, who brought her to that place on that fateful day.

The Ten Commandments -9/28/09

Ten Commandments

Then God spoke all these words, saying,

• Thou shalt have no other gods before me
  
• Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images
  
• Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
  
• Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy
  
• Honor thy father and thy mother
  
• Thou shalt not kill
  
• Thou shalt not commit adultery
  
• Thou shalt not steal
  
• Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor
  
• Thou shat not covet
  

From - Exodus 20

Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments reveal the moral law of God. The Law reveals the character of God; if you want to know what God is like, simply look at the Ten Commandments. God is holy, and God commands man to be holy like Himself (I Peter 1:15, 16). The Law of God reveals God’s perfection and justice.

God’s Law Is Holy, Righteous, and Good

The Bible says – “So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:12). What does it mean to be holy, righteous, and good? Examine the Ten Commandments. They are a way of life to those who obey, and a way of death to those who disobey.

What Is Sin?

How do I know if I have sinned?” The Bible gives us a clear answer – “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.” (I John 3:4). Mankind stands justified or condemned in terms of God’s holy Law.

What does God require of you?

He requires perfect obedience to all of His commandments. That’s right, perfect obedience. “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” ( James 2:10).

The Good News Of The Gospel

What is the good news? Someone has paid the penalty in our behalf. “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.” ( I Peter 3:18). The function of God’s Law is to make us feel guilty so that we can find the true remedy in Christ. “But the Scripture has shut up all men under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.” ( Galatians 3:22) You don’t have to live with the guilt anymore. Believe in Jesus!

God’s Law Is The Christian’s Guide For Holiness

Another function of God’s Law is that once you have become a Christian, the Law of God now serves as the pattern for your growth as a Christian. We prove our love for Jesus by obedience to His commandments – “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). This obedience to God’s law can only be done through the power of the Holy Spirit, not in our own strength. Christian love is not some feeling; it is obedience to God’s law – “For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “ You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:13). “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefore is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10).

God’s Law Is Hope For Christian Families

What causes strife in our families, even Christian families? It is obviously sin, and many families are not using the Ten Commandments in raising their children. See Deuteronomy 11:18-21 to see what the Bible says about how we are to raise our children.

What Laws Should Govern Our Nation?

Another function of God’s law is that the Ten Commandments are to be the basis for all our civil laws in the United States. It is to be the standard by which Congress formulates laws and the standard by which true justice is administered by our judicial courts. Sad to say, this is not the present case in America, which is why America is in such moral decline. Removing the Ten Commandments from our government buildings is a tragedy of immense proportions – it insults the true Lawgiver, and He will judge the nation that rejects Him.