House File 102 



                                HOUSE FILE       
                                BY  STRUYK, BAUDLER, BOAL, DRAKE,
                                    RAYHONS, HUSER, KAUFMANN,
                                    WINDSCHITL, DE BOEF, HUSEMAN,
                                    L. MILLER, UPMEYER, HOFFMAN,
                                    ALONS, SANDS, CHAMBERS,
                                    VAN FOSSEN, SODERBERG, MAY,
                                    CLUTE, GRASSLEY, DEYOE, JACOBS,
                                    GRANZOW, ANDERSON, and WATTS


    Passed House,  Date               Passed Senate, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act establishing a child endangerment offense for the mother
  2    of a newborn child who caused an illegal drug to be present in
  3    the newborn child's body, and providing a penalty.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  5 TLSB 1486YH 82
  6 jp/je/5

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 726.6, subsection 1, Code 2007, is
  1  2 amended by adding the following new paragraph:
  1  3    NEW PARAGRAPH.  i.  By act or omission a newborn child's
  1  4 mother caused an illegal drug to be present in the newborn
  1  5 child's body and the drug's presence is a direct and
  1  6 foreseeable consequence of the act or omission.  Unless the
  1  7 presence of the illegal drug caused death or serious injury to
  1  8 the newborn child, the drug's presence shall be considered to
  1  9 have caused bodily injury to the newborn child.  For the
  1 10 purposes of this paragraph, "newborn child" means an infant
  1 11 who is three days of age or younger.
  1 12    Sec. 2.  Section 726.6, subsection 6, Code 2007, is amended
  1 13 to read as follows:
  1 14    6.  A person who commits child endangerment resulting in
  1 15 bodily injury to a child or minor or child endangerment in
  1 16 violation of subsection 1, paragraph "g" or "i", that does not
  1 17 result in a serious injury, is guilty of a class "D" felony.
  1 18                           EXPLANATION
  1 19    This bill provides a new child endangerment offense under
  1 20 Code section 726.6.  The new offense applies to an act or
  1 21 omission by the child's mother that caused an illegal drug to
  1 22 be present in the body of a newborn child as a direct and
  1 23 foreseeable consequence of the act or omission.  The term
  1 24 "newborn child" is defined to mean an infant who is three days
  1 25 of age or younger.  Unless the presence of the illegal drug
  1 26 caused death or serious injury to the newborn child, the
  1 27 drug's presence is considered to have caused bodily injury to
  1 28 the child.  A child endangerment offense that causes bodily
  1 29 injury to a child is punishable as a class "D" felony.
  1 30 LSB 1486YH 82
  1 31 jp:nh/je/5