MA H1793

Creates a new crime of fetal homicide under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265, Section 13O, making it a separate offense when criminal conduct causes death or bodily injury to a "child in utero" at any stage of development

Punishment for fetal homicide matches the penalty that would apply if the same injury or death had occurred to the pregnant woman

Prosecution does not require proof that the defendant knew or should have known the victim was pregnant, nor that the defendant intended harm to the unborn child

Explicitly exempts from prosecution: consensual abortions, medical treatment of the pregnant woman or fetus, and any prosecution of a pregnant woman regarding her own unborn child

Filed on January 14, 2025 by Rep. Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (20th Middlesex) with 5 co-sponsors; similar legislation (H.1586) was filed in the 2023-2024 session