Fetuses Covered Under Massachusetts Homicide Law, Top Court Says

Personhood rights extend to a fetus that is killed as a result of the homicide of a pregnant person, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled Tuesday.

The opinion contributes to the nationwide debate around the extent to which fetuses are entitled to the same rights as people. That question is of growing importance now that the US Supreme Court has overturned the constitutional right to an abortion.

Even if someone doesn’t directly injure a fetus when they kill a pregnant person, they should be charged with two murder convictions rather than one, the Massachusetts court said.

The justices declined ...