In her testimony on May 19, 2025, Catie Kelley, Policy Counsel for Americans United for Life, urged the Maine Senate Committee on Judiciary to support Legislative Document 1930, which would recognize unborn children as persons under the Maine Criminal Code for charges including Murder, Manslaughter, Assault, and Domestic Violence.

Kelley emphasized the critical need for this bill due to the heightened vulnerability of pregnant women to violence and homicide, citing studies showing that homicide rates during or shortly after pregnancy exceed other leading causes of maternal mortality by over twofold, with pregnant women facing a 16% higher homicide rate and a 15.9% increased likelihood of experiencing violence compared to nonpregnant women. Between 2020 and 2022, nearly 49% of Maine’s homicides were linked to domestic abuse, underscoring the urgency of LD 1930 to enhance justice and protection for pregnant women and their unborn children.

Read the full testimony below:

AUL-ME-LD-1930-Spoken-Virtual-Testimony

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