New York ‘Unborn Victims of Violence Act’ (S 1383)

S 1383 would amend current law to allow any person or “unborn child” in any stage of gestation to be the victim of an assault or homicide.

The bill would define “person,” when referring to the victim of any assault, aggravated assault or vehicular assault to mean “a human being who has been born and is alive, or an unborn child at any stage of gestation.”

Under this law, a homicide would mean:

“[…]conduct which causes the death of a person or an unborn child at any stage of gestation under circumstances constituting murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree manslaughter in the first degree, manslaughter in the second degree, vehicular manslaughter in the first degree, vehicular manslaughter in the second degree or criminally negligent homicide, abortion in the first degree or self-abortion in the first degree.”

Lawful abortions or otherwise necessary medical treatment resulting in a fetal death would not apply.

---

Related Legislation

Companion bill to A 3130.

Identical to A 3579/S 3830, which failed to pass in 2017.

Similar to A 6502, S 2532, A 3128, and S 1950, all of which failed to pass in previous legislative sessions.

---

Latest Action

1/14/19 – Introduced; referred to Codes Committee.

---

People