Florida Unborn Victims of Violence Act (HB 59)

HB 59 creates a separate criminal offense for death of, or bodily injury to, an “unborn child.”

The bill states that a person who commits a criminal offense or violates the Florida Criminal Code and causes the death of, or bodily injury to, an unborn child commits a separate offense if that offense isn’t specifically provided for.

The bill defines the term “unborn child” to mean “a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.”

The law does not require that the person engaging in criminal conduct have knowledge that the victim was pregnant or intend to cause the death of, or bodily injury to, the “unborn child.”

STATUS

Passed House on April 11, 2014 and passed Senate on April 23, 2014. Signed into law by Gov. Scott on June 20, 2014.

Companion bill to SB 162. Similar bills were introduced and failed to pass in 2013. (See HB 759 and SB 876.)

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