Two young expectant mothers become victims of violence and their unborn children die. In one case, authorities seek justice; in the other justice eludes them.

Some state lawmakers say they are trying to change a hiccup in the North Carolina justice system, which does not treat the death of an unborn child as a separate crime.

"These are not hypotheticals we are talking about," said Dewey Hudson, district attorney for the 4th Prosecutorial District, which includes Onslow County. His prosecutors have two pending trials in the 4th District in which pregnant women lost children as the result of violence. Current state law differentiates between the two - allowing charges in one case and not in the other.

In December 2007, 20-year-old pregnant Camp Lejeune Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach was beaten to death, burned and buried in the Half Moon community backyard of a colleague she had accused of rape. She was in her third trimester. Her unborn child died with her.

In May 2008, 29-year-old Lisa Wallace was five months pregnant when she was shot outside a Warsaw apartment while watching fireworks. She delivered twins prematurely and they died the next day. Gregory Chapman, 22, of Burgaw, faces double murder charges for the death of Wallace's twins.

Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean, 23, is fighting extradition from Mexico to stand trial for Lauterbach's death. Prosecutors have announced he will face no charges for the death of Lauterbach's unborn child. North Carolina law does not recognize the death of a fetus as a result of a violent crime as a crime itself.

Even though Lauterbach's unborn child was further along and at a point he could have lived on his own, his death is not a crime because he did not take a breath before dying.

The deaths of Wallace's twins who were born because of her traumatic shooting were viewed as homicides under state law because they breathed - even though at five months their survival outside the womb, while possible, was highly unlikely, said Dr. Anuradha Arcot, an Onslow County medical examiner.

In the General Assembly

N.C. State Sen. Harry Brown, R-Onslow, said it is a true shame North Carolina doesn't have a law punishing the intentional killing of a viable fetus. He is a sponsor of two bills making their way through the General Assembly that would make the death of a fetus a separate charge when a pregnant woman is injured or killed.

The bills require that a defendant who injures or kills a pregnant woman and causes the death of a fetus be charged with two felonies. In order for the law to apply, the woman would have to be more than 20 weeks pregnant and the defendant would have to have known the woman was pregnant.

"The problem in the past was we couldn't get the bills heard in committee," Brown said. "But I believe we will this time."

He said he has a strong feeling one of the bills or a consolidation of both will make it to the floor to be voted on by the entire General Assembly.

"We get past the roadblock of hearing it in committee, and we will get it passed on the floor," he said. "I am confident of that."

The abortion issue

But Raleigh insiders who have watched the slow progression of the bills are not so sure. The unborn victims issue is so tightly wrapped around abortion politics that special interest groups on both sides of the debate have undermined previous attempts to see similar bills passed, according to news analysis from the John W. Pope Civitas Institute.

Conservatives say the bill falls short. Liberal groups like Planned Parenthood also oppose the bill, but say it goes too far. The group says the bill will not reduce domestic violence.

The North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence said the state already has a law that increases penalties for injuring a pregnant woman and the passage of an unborn victims law would shift focus of prosecution away from the death of the pregnant woman, according to its Web site.

One group typically opposed to legislation that is viewed as undermining abortion laws is staying clear of the fight. "We are remaining neutral concerning the current bills in the legislature," said Rebecca Mann, the head of North Carolina's chapter of the National Organization of Women.

Not far enough?

While thankful for any stiffer laws on the books, prosecutors said they would like to see the law carried to its ultimate conclusion, making the death of an unborn child murder.

Every state in the Southeast except North Carolina has laws partially or fully recognizing unborn victims of violent crimes. Across the nation, 36 states have similar laws, including California. The federal government passed a law in 2004 making the intentional death of a viable fetus murder.

"I strongly believe we need to pass a law to protect the viable unborn fetus," Hudson said. "This is something the state legislature desperately needs to do."

Contact crime reporter Lindell Kay at 910-219-8456. Read Lindell's blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.