The bill creates a civil cause of action as the sole civil remedy for a woman who suffers an intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly unlawful termination of her pregnancy. The standard of proof for the suit is a preponderance of the evidence. The allowable damages are:

• Economic damages, including but not limited to the cost of treatment and rehabilitation, medical expenses, and any other pecuniary loss proximately caused by the unlawful termination of her pregnancy; • Noneconomic damages, including but not limited to pain and suffering, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment, loss of companionship and consortium, and other nonpecuniary loss proximately caused by the unlawful termination of her pregnancy; • Exemplary damages; • Reasonable attorney fees incurred as a result of bringing an action under this section; • Costs of suit, including but not limited to expenses for expert witnesses and expenses for investigative services to determine the identity of the defendant and the location of assets of the defendant; and • Interest.

The bill provides exceptions to liability for various medical personnel. The bill requires a case to be filed within 3 years of the cause of action arising and does not require a criminal conviction for a case to proceed.
The bill amends the wrongful death statute to define person as a human being who had been born and was alive at the time of the act.

Year

2014

Current status

  • 04/24/2014 - House Committee on Judiciary Postpone Indefinitely
  • 04/08/2014 - House Committee on Judiciary Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only
  • 03/19/2014 - Introduced In House - Assigned to Judiciary

Sponsors

Pettersen, Foote/Steadman

Bill number

HB14-1324

Position

Support