Assembly Bill A6502

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Provides that either a person or an unborn child in any stage of gestation may be the victim of an assault

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly Committee


  • Introduced
    • In Committee Assembly
    • In Committee Senate
    • On Floor Calendar Assembly
    • On Floor Calendar Senate
    • Passed Assembly
    • Passed Senate
  • Delivered to Governor
  • Signed By Governor

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2015-A6502 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Senate Version of this Bill:
S2532
Current Committee:
Assembly Codes
Law Section:
Penal Law
Laws Affected:
Add §§120.75 & 120.80, amd §§125.00 & 125.05, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2009-2010: A2034, S4897
2011-2012: A1673, S4347
2013-2014: A3128, S1950
2017-2018: A3579, S3830
2019-2020: A3130, S1383
2021-2022: A5729, S2669
2023-2024: S5308

2015-A6502 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that either a person or an unborn child in any stage of gestation may be the victim of an assault or homicide; also states situations when it does not constitute an assault on an unborn child such as during the course of an otherwise lawful abortion, during normal medical treatment or by the pregnant woman; defines "person" to include any human being who is born and is alive or an unborn child at any stage of gestation.

2015-A6502 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  6502

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                             March 25, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M. of A. CUSICK, TEDISCO, FITZPATRICK -- Multi-Sponsored
  by -- M. of A.  BROOK-KRASNY, KOLB, MALLIOTAKIS,  McDONOUGH,  McLAUGH-
  LIN,  RA, TENNEY, WALTER -- read once and referred to the Committee on
  Codes

AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation  to  the  unborn  victims  of
  violence act

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1.   Legislative intent.   The legislature  hereby  finds  and
declares  that  a  significant  loophole  exists  in  state law, denying
protection to pregnant women and certain children.  Currently, an offen-
der may not be held criminally responsible for  the  harm  caused  to  a
child unless that child has first been born alive.  Therefore, an assai-
lant who shoots a woman who is seven months pregnant, and kills both the
woman and her child, may only be charged with the homicide of the mother
since the infant is not considered a legal victim of the crime.
  New  York  state  policy lags behind most states in this area of crime
victims' protection.   Thirty-one  states  now  provide  protection  and
justice  for pregnant women and their unborn children who are victims of
violence.
  The legislature further finds and  declares  that  current  statistics
demonstrate  that  domestic  abuse  and violence against women increases
during pregnancy.  It is estimated that one in five women will be abused
during pregnancy.  A study in the Journal of the American Medical  Asso-
ciation  found  that  in the state of Maryland, a pregnant woman is more
likely to be a victim of a homicide than to  die  of  any  other  cause.
Thus, rather than pregnancy being a peaceful time of preparation and the
growth  of a healthy child, for many women it can be a time of violence,
grief and loss.
  Compounding this tragedy is the loophole in current law, which  denies
effective  protection  and  remedy  to women and their children.  When a

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD07640-01-5
              

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