Death penalty proposal

[Mark Tushnet]

Last night the House passed by an overwhelming vote a bill sponsored by Rep. Lehtinen (R. -FL.) barring states from executing pregnant women.  The existing federal death penalty law already precludes such executions.  (The bill's prospects in the Senate are said to be tiny.)  An exercise:  Complete the following sentence:  "Under contemporary constitutional law, Congress has the power under the Constitution to enact this proposal because .  .  .  ."

Mark Tushnet
Georgetown University Law Center
600 New Jersey Ave. NW
Washington, DC  20001
     202-662-9106
     202-662-9497 (fax)
tushnet at law.georgetown.edu