The story was written on her face. As President George W. Bush movingly spoke the words which preceded his signing of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, known as Laci and Connor’s law, the events experienced by Tracy Marciniak Seavers were clearly expressed in her emotions. This is Tracy’s story.

In 1992, Wisconsin Right to Life received a call for help from Tracy’s sister. A pregnant Tracy had been beaten by her husband six days before her delivery date and was then prevented from seeking medical assistance. By God’s grace, Tracy survived the brutal attack. But, her precious son, Zachariah, did not.

Sadly, Tracy quickly learned that under Wisconsin law, her husband could not be prosecuted for causing the death of their son because Zachariah was not “born alive.” Tracy worked ferociously with Wisconsin Right to Life for six years to enact a Wisconsin law making it a crime to kill or injure an unborn child when a pregnant woman is attacked. To emphasize that there are two victims in such a crime, Tracy carried a picture of herself holding her dead son’s body. She would boldly ask anyone who disagreed if they saw one or two victims in this poignant photo.

On a memorable day in 1998, Governor Tommy Thompson signed the Wisconsin act into law.

Upon learning that a federal law was being considered, Tracy once again threw herself into efforts to enact the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. Adding to the pressure on Congress was Sharon Rocha, mother of Laci and grandmother of Connor Peterson. Sharon was as relentless as Tracy in her efforts and the law became known as Laci and Connor’s law. Other families stepped forward who had lost loved ones.

It took two congressional sessions but, finally, the US Senate followed the courageous action of the US House of Representatives and passed Laci and Connor’s law in March of 2004.

At the signing ceremony at the White House on April 1, 2004, Tracy’s fourteen year journey reached its climactic conclusion. The other families present who had experienced the loss of a daughter and grandchild were surely feeling the same emotions. But it was Tracy’s face that mesmerized, displaying rotating images of sorrow, pain, resolve, and peace. But above all, written on her face was the unmistakable and irreplaceable love of a mother for her child.

Tracy’s reflections on her remarkable journey and the signing ceremony are these: “With this bill being signed I know that I have done what God let me live to do. Now it is time for me to move on to my next goal and to raise my kids into knowing that you can make a difference in the world that we live in today.”

May there never be another Zachariah whose life is lost in this brutal manner. Wisconsin Right to Life thanks God that Zachariah and his fellow unborn angels are now recognized under Wisconsin law and in cases within the reach of federal jurisdiction.

Barbara L. Lyons is executive director of Wisconsin Right to Life. She attended President Bush’s signing of the federal Unborn Victims of Violence Act. After returning from the bill signing, she wrote this article, reprinted here with her permission.