Kolb, Malliotakis, McDonough, McLaughlin, Ra, Tenney, Walter
Add SS120.75 & 120.80, amd SS125.00 & 125.05, Pen L
Provides that either a person or an unborn child in any stage of gestation may be the victim of an assault or homicide; also states situations when it does not constitute an assault on an unborn child such as during the course of an otherwise lawful abortion, during normal medical treatment or by the pregnant woman; defines "person" to include any human being who is born and is alive or an unborn child at any stage of gestation.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6502
SPONSOR: Cusick (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the penal law, in relation to the
unborn victims of violence act
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To provide the tools necessary to
bring justice to those who commit acts of violence against mothers and
their unborn children.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1 outlines the legislative
intent.
Section 2 gives this bill the short title: "unborn victims of violence
act"
Section 3 adds new sections 120.75 and 120.80 to the penal law.
Section 120.75 to Penal Law establishes the definition of "person"
applicable to the sections addressing assault in the third degree,
assault in the second degree, assault in the first degree, vehicular
assault in the second degree, vehicular assault in the first degree,
gang assault in the second degree, gang assault in the first degree, and
aggravated assault upon a person less than eleven years old. The new
definition adds an unborn child at any stage of gestation.
Section 120.60, for purposes of Article 120 of the Penal Law, exempts
from prosecution individuals performing consensual and justifiable
abortions, individuals treating the mother or child medically, and moth-
ers (other than mothers performing self-abortions).
Section 4 redefines "homicide" under section 125.00 of the Penal Law to
include conduct which causes death to an unborn child at any stage of
gestation, to include murder in the first degree, murder in the second
degree, vehicular manslaughter in the first degree, and vehicular
manslaughter in the second degree. Section 4 also states for purposes of
Article 125.00 of the Penal Law, an exemption from prosecution for indi-
viduals performing consensual and justifiable abortions, individuals
treating the mother or child medically, and mothers (other than mothers
performing self-abortions).
Section 5 amends the definition provided by section 125.05 of the Penal
Law for "person," when referring to the victim of a homicide, an unborn
child at any stage of gestation.
Section 6 is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION: The Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the pregnancy-as-
sociated homicide ratio was 1.7 per 100,000 live births in the United
States between 1991 and 1999. Twenty percent of the deaths of pregnant
women are caused by homicide making it the leading cause of death among
pregnant women outside medical complications. When murderers knowingly
attack pregnant women, they knowingly target more than the mother's
life.
The Article of the New York Penal Law that deals with homicide,
abortion, and related offenses currently defines "person" as a human
being who has been born alive and "homicide" as causing the death of a
person or unborn child with which a female has been pregnant for more
than twenty-four weeks. These two definitions have left it impossible
for prosecutors and the courts to use the full extent of the law to
punish those who viciously and knowingly take the life of an unborn
child and/or its mother. This bill empowers New York's prosecutors to
seek justice for those who deliberately attack mothers and murder their
unborn children by changing the definitions of "person" and "homicide"
to include unborn children at any stage of gestation.
As is outlined in the bill's first section, the intent of this legis-
lation is to close the loophole for killers of unborn children. It is
not the intent of this legislation to stifle a woman's right to a
consensual abortion or to medical treatment. As such, the bill specif-
ically provides protections for mothers consenting to an abortion and to
doctors who treat pregnant women.
If we are to claim that we have a justice system that is truly just, it
is paramount that New York State joins the thirty-one states that are
now providing protections and justice for pregnant women and their
unborn children who are victims of violence. By enacting this legis-
lation we send a clear message to perpetrators of violence against preg-
nant women and unborn children that we are serious about protecting New
York's mothers.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2013-2014: A.3218-Died in
Codes/S.1959-Died in Codes 2011-2012: A.1673-Died in Codes/S.4347-Died
in Codes 2009-2010: A.2034-Died in Codes/S.4897-Died in Codes 2007-2008:
A.5777-Died in Codes/S.3117-Died in Codes 2005-2006: A.10810-Died in
Codes/S.2515-A-Died in Codes 2003-2004: S.403-Died Codes 2002:S.57B
-Passed Senate
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None to the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect on the first of November
next succeeding the date on which it shall have become law.
