Two charged with capital murder after preborn baby's death

Dallas police have charged two people with capital murder after they allegedly shot a pregnant woman, injuring her and killing her preborn child.

Key Takeaways:

• Two people, a 17 year old and 20 year old, have been charged with capital murder after shooting a pregnant woman, resulting in the death of the woman's child.

• It is unclear from news reports if the baby died in utero, or if the infant died following an emergency C-section.

• Texas has fetal homicide laws recognizing preborn children as murder victims, but this is not true for every state.

The Details:

According to Fox 4 News, 17-year-old Yeremy Zapata Aleman and 20-year-old Keyner Calero Jiron are accused of getting into an altercation with a man at a local business; the man then got into a vehicle and drove away.

Aleman and Jiron then allegedly fired at the vehicle, striking a pregnant woman who was sitting inside. The woman was transported to a local hospital, where her baby died as a result of the injuries. It is unclear from news reports if the baby died in utero, or if the woman underwent an emergency C-section and the infant then died.

Both suspects have been charged with capital murder, due to the death of the baby.

Zoom In:

A capital murder charge in Texas is brought when a person murders an individual under 10 years of age.

Though sources are not clear whether or not the baby died inside or outside his or her mother's womb, the cause of death remains the same — homicide.

Texas has fetal homicide laws recognizing that preborn children can be murder victims, but this wouldn't be the case in every state. According to National Right to Life, as of January 2024, 39 states have enacted laws that recognize fetal victims of homicide in at least some cases. However, some states have no recognition. Had this incident occurred elsewhere in the country and the baby died in his mother's womb, there may have been no murder charges.

The Bottom Line:

The humanity of the preborn child does not depend on where the child's mother resides; all preborn children are humans deserving of full protection, regardless of their location (including in or out of the womb).