Senate Bill S1950

2013-2014 Legislative Session

Provides that either a person or an unborn child in any stage of gestation may be the victim of an assault

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Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee


  • Introduced
    • In Committee Assembly
    • In Committee Senate
    • On Floor Calendar Assembly
    • On Floor Calendar Senate
    • Passed Assembly
    • Passed Senate
  • Delivered to Governor
  • Signed By Governor

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2013-S1950 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:
A3128
Current Committee:
Senate Codes
Law Section:
Penal Law
Laws Affected:
Add §§120.75 & 120.80, amd §§125.00 & 125.05, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2009-2010: S4897, A2034
2011-2012: S4347, A1673
2015-2016: S2532, A6502
2017-2018: S3830, A3579
2019-2020: S1383, A3130
2021-2022: S2669, A5729
2023-2024: S5308

2013-S1950 (ACTIVE) - Summary

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.

2013-S1950 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2013-S1950 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  1950

                       2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 9, 2013
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  RITCHIE,  BALL,  FARLEY,  GOLDEN,  LANZA, LARKIN,
  LIBOUS, LITTLE, MAZIARZ, O'MARA,  YOUNG,  ZELDIN  --  read  twice  and
  ordered  printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
  Codes

AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation  to  the  unborn  victims  of
  violence act

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1.   Legislative intent.   The legislature  hereby  finds  and
declares  that  a  significant  loophole  exists  in  state law, denying
protection to pregnant women and certain children.  Currently, an offen-
der may not be held criminally responsible for  the  harm  caused  to  a
child unless that child has first been born alive.  Therefore, an assai-
lant who shoots a woman who is seven months pregnant, and kills both the
woman and her child, may only be charged with the homicide of the mother
since the infant is not considered a legal victim of the crime.
  New  York  state  policy lags behind most states in this area of crime
victims' protection.   Thirty-one  states  now  provide  protection  and
justice  for pregnant women and their unborn children who are victims of
violence.
  The legislature further finds and  declares  that  current  statistics
demonstrate  that  domestic  abuse  and violence against women increases
during pregnancy.  It is estimated that one in five women will be abused
during pregnancy.  A study in the Journal of the American Medical  Asso-
ciation  found  that  in the state of Maryland, a pregnant woman is more
likely to be a victim of a homicide than to  die  of  any  other  cause.
Thus, rather than pregnancy being a peaceful time of preparation and the
growth  of a healthy child, for many women it can be a time of violence,
grief and loss.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD00780-01-3
              

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