H.B. 1402 Summary

• Requires healthcare providers to provide medically appropriate and reasonable life-saving and life-sustaining medical care and treatment to all infants born alive, including those who survive abortion attempts.

• Establishes criminal penalties including murder in the second degree for intentionally killing a born-alive infant, manslaughter for recklessly failing to provide care resulting in death, and up to 5 years imprisonment for violating experimental research prohibitions.

• Permits civil lawsuits by the mother against healthcare providers who violate care requirements, allowing recovery of damages up to three times the cost of the abortion, punitive damages, and attorney's fees.

• Mandates professional disciplinary action and automatic license suspension for at least one year for any conviction of violating the act's requirements for physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers.

• Clarifies that the act does not affect existing abortion rights under state or federal law and does not alter the legal status of unborn children before live birth.