Bill > HB523

This bill creates comprehensive legal provisions for protecting unborn children in Kentucky's criminal statutes, expanding legal definitions and prosecutorial options for cases involving harm to unborn children. The bill defines an "unborn child" as an individual from fertilization until live birth and modifies existing criminal statutes in chapters on homicide and assault to explicitly include unborn children as potential victims. Key provisions include allowing prosecution for criminal offenses against unborn children, with specific exceptions for spontaneous miscarriages and life-saving medical procedures. The bill gives the Attorney General concurrent jurisdiction with local prosecutors in such cases and provides a defense of duress for a mother charged with intentional harm to her unborn child. The legislation repeals previous fetal homicide statutes and amends related laws to conform with the new definitions and provisions. Importantly, the bill specifies that legal principles such as presumptions, defenses, and immunities that apply to born persons will also apply to cases involving unborn children. The changes are designed to provide legal protections for unborn children while maintaining specific medical and procedural safeguards, and the bill is officially titled the "Prenatal Equal Protection Act".