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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Larranaga
DATE TYPED 1/24/05
HB 111
SHORT TITLE Unborn Victims of Vilence Act
SB
ANALYST Wilson
APPROPRIATION
Appropriation Contained Estimated Additional Impact Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY05
FY06
FY05
FY06
See Narrative
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Attorney Generals Office (AG)
Administrative Office of the District Attorneys (AODA)
Corrections Department (CD)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 111 enacts the “Unborn Victims of Violence Act” which provides criminal penalties
for killing or injuring a child in utero without lawful justification. The Act prohibits those crimes
and imposes penalties for intentional murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter,
and battery on an “unborn child”. The Act will not apply to legal abortion, self-induced abortion,
acts in accordance with customary medical procedure, and acts committed in self defense.
Knowledge of pregnancy is not required
Significant Issues
The AG believes HB 111 is modeled after the federal Unborn Victims of Violence Act or “Laci
and Conner’s Law” which was signed by President Bush on April 1, 2004. PL 108-212. Oppo-
nents of the law, including the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, assert that the federal
law represents an erosion of the principles set forth by the Supreme Court in its 1973 decision in
Roe v. Wade. Opponents claim that the federal law gives legal status to an egg or embryo, even