The bill amends Chapter 11-9 of the General Laws by adding a new section titled "Care of babies born preterm." It establishes that any physician, nurse, or other licensed medical person who knowingly and intentionally fails to provide reasonable medical care and treatment to an infant born alive, as defined in the bill, shall be guilty of a felony. Upon conviction, the individual may be fined up to $5,000, imprisoned for up to five years, or both. Additionally, if the infant dies as a result of this failure to provide reasonable care, the medical professional shall be guilty of manslaughter.

The bill also specifies that the requirements shall not prevent an infant's parent(s) or guardian(s) from refusing consent to medical treatment or care that is not medically necessary or reasonable. This includes care or treatment that is not necessary to save the life of the infant, has a potential risk to the infant's life or health that outweighs the potential benefit, or is treatment that will do no more than temporarily prolong the act of dying when death is imminent. The term "born alive" is defined in the bill to mean the complete expulsion or extraction from the mother of an infant who, after such expulsion or extraction, breathes, has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut or the circumstances of the birth. This act will take effect upon passage.