Unborn Twins Killed In Bennington Car Crash  
By Mary Beerworth

On August 11, 2009, six-month old pre-born twins Kaleb Michael Blair and Harley Olivia Blair, lost their lives as a result of a head-on car crash in Bennington, Vermont. The driver of the car that collided with the Blair family minivan is expected to be cited with responsibility for the accident - but she will not stand trial for the deaths of the six-month old pre-born twins because Vermont statutes do not recognize them as human persons.

"No one will be charged with killing my babies," Mrs. Blair said in an interview with Vermont Catholic Magazine, "In Vermont, it doesn’t matter."

The babies were already loved, named, and anxiously awaited by extended family and friends. The tragedy is compounded by the fact that just a little over a year ago the Blair family lost a full-term baby girl, Shanna, who died 17 hours after her birth from complications.

When Patricia Blair learned she was pregnant with twins after losing Shanna, she and her husband considered them a special blessing. "Randy and I both believe we were blessed with twins after we lost Shanna," Patricia Blair stated in an article published in the October issue of the Vermont Catholic Magazine. "They were a special blessing God sent to be a part of our family. We were meant to have these children."

"They would have been here with me had this not happened and I don’t know how Vermont can say they are not babies," Mrs. Blair told the Bennington Banner 8/12/09 as she held her twins to say a final goodbye. "To me they are babies. They have the hair, they have the eyes, they have the nose, they have perfect little lips. They have fingers, toes, toe nails, all the right anatomy."

A 1989 Vermont Supreme Court decision, State vs Oliver, determined that a common law tradition dating back to the 17th century defining a human person as "born alive" prevents anyone from being charged in the death of an unborn child. (State vs Oliver involved the death of a full-term unborn child killed in a car accident in Addison County.) The ruling concluded that "This Court is not the proper forum in which to consider and accomplish the extension of criminal liability that would occur as a result of interpreting the term "person" in Sec. 1091(c) to include a viable fetus. That task must be accomplished by the legislature."

While Vermont Right to Life has pressed the Legislature over the years to address the glaring loophole in Vermont statutes, lawmakers have not taken up legislation to protect unborn victims of negligence and/or violence. In the meantime, 35 states have moved to enact legislation recognizing an unborn child as a victim in criminal circumstances; including murder, manslaughter, negligent killing, battery and assault.

In 2004, the federal government enacted what is commonly known as the "Laci and Connor Peterson Law" in order to protect unborn victims of federal or military crimes in every state. Therefore, in Vermont, an unborn child can be considered a victim if the crime occurs on federally-owned property or the mother is a member of the military. But for the Blair family, there can be no legal recognition of their tremendous loss here in Vermont.

The Blair family hopes to change the law for others who may find themselves in similar circumstances. "It would mean that God sent them here for some purpose and they fulfilled it even if it was in their short few months," said Patricia, according to WCAX-TV press coverage 8/12/09.

"I don’t want any mother – ever – to have to wake up (from surgery) and have the state tell them their babies aren’t babies. I was lying in my hospital bed and we wanted to see what was on the news about the crash - it was the first time I had heard that there would be no criminal charges for the death of the babies because Vermont doesn’t recognize them as people. At that point, my babies were there in the room, in my arms, because they (hospital personnel) let you spend some time afterwards with them. And they were perfectly formed babies. To hear that Vermont would not allow them to be called babies or children or anything, just fetuses, I was amazed," said Patricia Blair, mom of the unborn twins to CitizenLink, an online arm of Focus on the Family.

Patricia and Randy Blair intend to appeal to lawmakers this year to pass a law that they hope will ultimately be referred to as the "Kaleb and Harley Law" in honor of their children. The law, however, will have no effect on their case.

"I already know that it will not help my case, which is hard, because I really think that the girl who did this has to take responsibility. She made choices just like any of us make choices. We have to live with the consequences. Before this, I wasn’t real big into following the law and the Legislature. I never thought that I was a strong enough person, but when something like this happens, it kind of makes you wake up," continued Patricia.

Randy Blair, father of the twins, was badly injured in the crash and has already undergone several surgeries, while Patricia suffered back and kidney injuries as well as an emergency caesarian to try to save their twins. The Blair’s sons, 7-year-old Dakota and 8-year-old Shane were not significantly injured in the accident. The couple’s 15-year old daughter, Gail, was not in the car at the time of the crash.

On Sunday, October 25, 2009, a memorial service was held by the Blair family to honor Kaleb and Harley and to share their gratitude for the support and prayers given to them by the community. Patricia and Randy handed out T-shirts with the footprints of the twins, their weight, length and times of birth on one side and "Bennington Babies" on the back. After the service, three homing doves were released by Blair family members to symbolize the spirits of Kaleb, Harley and Shanna rising to heaven, and another 11 doves were released to accompany them on their journey.

Patricia Blair told the Bennington Banner that, "I feel like these are all of Bennington’s babies. If we had not shared in their loss with the community, we would have been crushed even further."

While in the hospital, Patricia was encouraged to call an organization called "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep." The organization sent in a photographer who helped the grief stricken family memorialize their twins forever with beautiful photographs of Kaleb and Harley.

(The organization is a tremendous resource for anyone who has suffered a similar loss and can be found at http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org)

Contact VRLC for more information about how to help pass a "Kaleb and Harley" law in Vermont or for information about how to contribute to the Kaleb and Harley Fund.

Mary Beerworth is the Executive Director of Vermont Right to Life