This bill establishes legal protections for unborn children in the context of wrongful death, homicide, and assault. It amends existing laws to include the wrongful death of an unborn child as a recoverable damage, defining an unborn child as an individual organism of the species Homo sapiens from fertilization to fetal death or live birth. Additionally, it specifies that any recovery by a parent for the death of a child is subordinate to the recovery of the spouse or child of the decedent. The bill also introduces new provisions that ensure that prosecutions for homicide and assault include unborn children as victims, granting them the same legal protections as individuals who have been born.

Furthermore, the bill modifies the definitions and applications of insanity and compulsion defenses to include pregnant women acting in relation to their unborn children. It clarifies that acts committed under compulsion, except those causing intentional or reckless injury to another, are not public offenses if the individual reasonably believes they are averting imminent harm. The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment and applies only to actions occurring after its effective date.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 633.336, 701.4, 704.10