North Carolina H215 - Unborn Victims of Violence Act/Ethen's Law

• Creates new criminal offenses for acts causing death or injury to unborn children, defined as a member of homo sapiens at any stage of development carried in the womb.

• Establishes murder of an unborn child as a Class A felony with life imprisonment without parole when death is caused willfully and maliciously, during commission of certain felonies, or by reckless acts inherently dangerous to human life.

• Creates voluntary manslaughter of an unborn child (Class D felony) and involuntary manslaughter of an unborn child (Class F felony) with penalties matching similar offenses against the mother.

• Establishes assault and battery offenses against unborn children, with assault inflicting serious bodily injury as a Class F felony and battery on an unborn child as a Class A1 misdemeanor.

• Exempts lawful abortions under G.S. 14-45.1, medical diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and actions taken by the pregnant woman herself, including miscarriage or stillbirth, from criminal prosecution.

• Takes effect December 1, 2011, and applies only to offenses committed on or after that date.