HB 14-1324 Summary

• Creates a civil cause of action allowing women to sue any person who intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes the unlawful termination of her pregnancy, with proof required by preponderance of the evidence.

• Establishes recoverable damages including economic damages (medical expenses, treatment costs), noneconomic damages (pain and suffering, loss of companionship), exemplary damages, attorney fees, court costs, and interest.

• Provides exceptions from liability for healthcare providers engaged in medical care, telemedicine, assisted reproduction, or genetic testing, and prohibits liability against a woman for acts affecting her own pregnancy.

• Requires civil actions be filed within 3 years of when the woman discovers her pregnancy was unlawfully terminated and does not require a prior criminal conviction to proceed.

• Amends Colorado's wrongful death statute to define "person" as a human being who had been born and was alive at the time of the wrongful act, clarifying that unborn beings are not persons for statutory purposes.