Caroline Tucker
wmal.com
ANNAPOLIS (WMAL) – The parents of a murdered Howard County teacher are pushing to protect unborn children.
Mark and Gwen Wallen are working with lawmakers to get “Laura and Reid’s Law” passed in the Maryland General Assembly.
The bill is named after their daughter, Laura, and their unborn grandson, Reid.
Laura Wallen was killed in September. Her boyfriend Tyler Tessier was charged with first-degree murder in her death.
“A monster with one bullet killed two generations of our family,” said Mark Wallen, Laura’s father.
However, Tessier was never charged with the death of Reid. At the time, the fetus was only about 14 weeks old.
Under Maryland law, a separate charge can only be brought if the fetus is at least 23 weeks old.
Republican Senator Justin Ready is sponsoring this new measure that was unveiled at a press conference on Tuesday.
“From my perspective, this legislation is nothing more than an attempt to have justice for the victims,” said Sen. Ready, “and justice for the survivors.”
Delegate Trent Kittleman is sponsoring the measure in the Maryland House of Delegates. She says she views this bill as a woman’s rights bill.
“It would be nice to have some Democratic sponsors, ” she said.
Part of that might have to do with the perception that this measure brings up the issue of abortion.
Abortion rights supporters may see this as a “slippery slope” regarding a woman’s right to choose. While abortion opponents feel protecting a fetus at an early stage supports their beliefs.
However, Sen. Ready and Wallen say this measure was crafted specifically to not infringe on abortion rights in any way.
“I say not protecting pregnant women from domestic violence is unbelievable and unthinkable. This bill has nothing to do with a woman’s right to choose,” said Wallen.
“The law as it is presented specifically carves out the idea that a woman still has the right to choose,” said Sen. Wallen.
Sen. Ready says the language in the bill is strong and separates the two issues but says he is open to amendments.
Wallen says he can’t protect his family with this bill but he hopes it could one day protect someone else’s.
“This bill is not about a slippery slope, this bill is about protecting Marylanders from domestic violence,” said Wallen.
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