Assembly Bill A5729

2021-2022 Legislative Session

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

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly 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

Do you support this bill?

Please enter your contact information

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.
Actions

co-Sponsors

multi-Sponsors

2021-A5729 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Senate Version of this Bill:
S2669
Current Committee:
Assembly 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: A2034, S4897
2011-2012: A1673, S4347
2013-2014: A3128, S1950
2015-2016: A6502, S2532
2017-2018: A3579, S3830
2019-2020: A3130, S1383
2023-2024: S5308

2021-A5729 (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.

2021-A5729 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5729
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 24, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. CUSICK, FITZPATRICK, GOODELL, PALMESANO, WALCZYK
   -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.  McDONOUGH,  RA  --  read  once  and
   referred 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.
   Compounding  this tragedy is the loophole in current law, which denies
 effective protection and remedy to women and their  children.    When  a
 woman makes a conscious choice to keep her baby and has the choice viol-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.