Stand Your Ground legislation, which allowed George Zimmerman to escape jail time after shooting and killing Trayvon Martin, is already incredibly controversial. These laws promote vigilantism, since a person who could reasonably retreat to safety is instead encouraged to shoot. They have also exacerbated the existing racial disparities in the criminal justice system. White-on-black homicides are 354 percent more likely to be ruled justified than white-on-white homicides.
And it’s not clear that this type of law would do anything whatsoever to keep pregnant women safer. Escalating a violent situation, rather than retreating, could put women and their fetuses in more harm. Although gun supporters often claim that women need weapons to protect themselves against attackers and abusers, introducing deadly force into a domestic dispute is actually more likely to leave women dead. Many women are shot and killed with their own guns.
Two other states, Arkansas and Oklahoma, also authorize deadly force to allow pregnant women to defend themselves. A similar proposal was introduced in South Dakota in 2011, but was ultimately defeated after opponents raised concerns that it could end up sanctioning the murder of abortion providers. According to Nash, this may the first time that lawmakers have so explicitly linked Stand Your Ground with fetal homicide.
Article Appeared @http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/04/11/3425665/south-carolina-stand-your-ground/