SF 54 (LSB 1155XS (2) 87)

SENATE FILE 54

BY  CHELGREN

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the determination of when certain criminal and vital statistics provisions apply to the death of a fetus, and making penalties applicable.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 136A.2, subsection 8, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   8.  “Stillbirth” means an unintended fetal death occurring after a gestation period of twenty completed weeks, or an unintended fetal death of a fetus with a weight of three hundred fifty or more grams.
    Sec. 2.  Section 144.29, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   A fetal death certificate for each fetal death which occurs in this state after a gestation period of twenty completed weeks or greater, or for of a fetus with a weight of three hundred fifty grams or more shall be filed as directed by the state registrar within three days after delivery and prior to final disposition of the fetus. The certificate shall be registered if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this chapter.
    Sec. 3.  Section 144.29A, subsection 7, paragraph c, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   c.  “Spontaneous termination of pregnancy” means the occurrence of an unintended termination of pregnancy at any time during the period from conception to twenty weeks the point in gestation when the fetus reaches a weight of three hundred fifty grams and which is not a spontaneous termination of pregnancy at any time during the period from twenty weeks or after the point in gestation when the fetus reaches a weight greater than three hundred fifty grams which is reported to the department as a fetal death under this chapter.
    Sec. 4.  Section 707.1, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   707.1  Murder defined.
   1.  A person who kills another person with malice aforethought either express or implied commits murder.
   2.  “Person”, when referring to the victim of a murder, means an individual human being from the point of gestation when the fetus reaches a weight of three hundred fifty grams or more until natural death.
   3.  Murder does not include any of the following:
   a.  A “stillbirth” as defined in section 136A.2, a “fetal death” as defined in section 144.1, or a “spontaneous termination of pregnancy” as defined in section 144.29A.
   b.  A termination of a human pregnancy performed by a physician licensed in this state to practice medicine or surgery or osteopathic medicine or surgery when in the best clinical judgment of the physician the termination is performed to preserve the life or health of the pregnant person or of the fetus and every reasonable medical effort not inconsistent with preserving the life of the pregnant person is made to preserve the life of a viable fetus.
    Sec. 5.  Section 707.7, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2017, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  Any person who intentionally terminates a human pregnancy, with the knowledge and voluntary consent of the pregnant person, after the end of the second trimester of the pregnancy fetus reaches a weight of three hundred fifty grams or more where death of the fetus results commits feticide. Feticide is a class “C” felony.
   2.  Any person who attempts to intentionally terminate a human pregnancy, with the knowledge and voluntary consent of the pregnant person, after the end of the second trimester of the pregnancy fetus reaches a weight of three hundred fifty grams or more where death of the fetus does not result commits attempted feticide. Attempted feticide is a class “D” felony.
    Sec. 6.  Section 707.9, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   707.9  Murder of fetus aborted alive.
   A person who intentionally kills a viable fetus that has reached a weight of three hundred fifty grams or more aborted alive shall be guilty of a class “B” felony.
    Sec. 7.  Section 707.10, Code 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   707.10  Duty to preserve the life of the fetus.
   A person who performs or induces a termination of a human pregnancy and who willfully fails to exercise that degree of professional skill, care, and diligence available to preserve the life and health of a viable fetus that has reached a weight of three hundred fifty grams or more shall be guilty of a serious misdemeanor.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the determination of when fetal death and homicide and related criminal provisions apply to a fetus.
   The bill redefines “stillbirth” and “spontaneous termination of pregnancy”, and describes fetal death for the purposes of the required filing of a fetal death certificate, so that all these terms are based on the fetus’ weight relative to 350 grams.
   The bill defines the term “person” in the context of the victim of a murder to mean an individual human being from the point of gestation when the fetus reaches a weight of 350 grams or more until natural death. However, the bill provides that murder does not include a stillbirth, a fetal death, or a spontaneous termination of pregnancy. 
   The bill also amends provisions relating to feticide to apply the elements of that crime to a human pregnancy after the fetus reaches a weight of 350 grams and eliminates the alternative of application to a fetus after the second trimester of a pregnancy.
   The bill amends provisions relating to the murder of a fetus aborted alive and the duty to preserve the life of a fetus on which a termination of pregnancy has been induced or performed, to apply to a fetus that has reached the weight of 350 grams or more rather than a fetus that has reached the stage of viability. 
   The criminal penalties that currently apply to murder, feticide, nonconsensual termination of a human pregnancy, murder of a fetus aborted alive, and violation of the duty to preserve the life of a fetus, are applicable, respectively, to the provisions of the bill.