Iowa Bill Regarding Fetal Death and Homicide (SF 2152)

This law was last updated on Jun 28, 2016

State

Iowa

Number

SF 2152

Status

Failed to Pass

Proposed

Feb 10, 2016

Topics

20-Week Bans, Fetal Homicide

Full Bill Text

www.legis.iowa.gov

SF 2152 would define the term “person” in the context of the victim of a murder to mean an individual human being from the point of gestation when the fetus reaches a weight of 350 grams (around 20 to 21 weeks) or more until natural death. This would not apply to a stillbirth, a fetal death, or a spontaneous termination of pregnancy.

The bill also amends provisions relating to feticide to apply the elements of that crime to a human pregnancy after the fetus reaches a weight of 350 grams and eliminates the alternative of application to a fetus after the second trimester of a pregnancy. This would essentially ban abortions after the 20th or 21st week of gestation.

Anyone who commits the act of feticide would be guilty of a class “C” felony. Attempted feticide is a class “D” felony.

The bill amends provisions relating to the murder of a fetus aborted alive and the duty to preserve the life of a fetus on which a termination of pregnancy has been induced or performed, to apply to a fetus that has reached the weight of 350 grams or more rather than a fetus that has reached the stage of viability.