DES MOINES - A bill that would allow prosecutors to charge people responsible for the death of an unborn child with crimes as serious as first-degree murder cleared the Iowa House Tuesday.

Pro-life advocates say the new law would reflect the value that should be placed on the lives of unborn children and protect pregnant women from becoming a target of violence.

Opponents of the bill say it is a backdoor attempt to erode abortion rights for women and create legal rights for a fetus, even though the legislation contains an exemption for legal abortions.

The law was prompted after the high-profile killing of Laci Peterson and her unborn son, whose bodies were found washed ashore in San Francisco Bay. Her husband, Scott Peterson, is currently on trial in California for her death.

Rep. Dan Boddicker, R-Tipton, said the Iowa bill would provide justice to women whose unborn children are harmed or killed at any stage of development due to violent crime.

"This bill is primarily about justice for the second victim," Boddicker said.

Passage of the bill on a 63-36 vote sends it to Gov. Tom Vilsack for consideration. Vilsack spokesman Matt Paul said the governor will look at similar legislation passed in other states before acting on the bill.

The U.S. Congress recently passed similar legislation, the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act," that was signed into law last week by President Bush.

Opponents of the Iowa law say a current state law already allows prosecutors to charge defendants with the unlawful termination of a pregnancy during the commission of a crime, such as in the Laci Peterson case.

"I think we have very adequate laws on the books," said Rep. Mary Mascher, D-Iowa City, who voted against the measure.

Boddicker argued that under current law, a pregnant women whose fetus was killed on the way to the hospital would see the perpetrator face only 25 years in prison.

But if her baby was killed on the way home from the hospital, the perpetrator could be charged with first-degree murder, which carries a life term.

"To the mother do you think there's any difference?" Boddicker said.

Democrats offered amendments that would have enhanced penalties for the crime of the unlawful termination of a pregnancy without defining it as murder or manslaughter, but they were shot down.

Rep. Don Shoultz, a Waterloo Democrat who opposed the bill, said unborn children aren't treated the same as people in other areas of state law so they shouldn't be in Iowa's criminal laws either.

For example, unborn children aren't issued Social Security numbers and can't be deducted from a parents' income taxes, he said.

"Our laws are very definite about that, so our laws should be consistent here," Shoultz said.