A.B. 2223, formerly coined “The Infanticide Bill,” would have made infanticide (the killing of born babies) legal in California. The bill stated that a person would not be “subject to civil or criminal liability or penalty” based on their actions “with respect to their pregnancy or actual, potential, or alleged pregnancy outcome, including miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion, or perinatal death due to a pregnancy-related cause.” “Perinatal” can be defined as a number of weeks after birth.

Recently, A.B. 2223 was amended from stating “perinatal death due to a pregnancy-related cause” to now stating “perinatal death due to a cause that occurred in utero.” This means that a mother and anyone assisting her can be shielded from civil or criminal charges for the death of her newborn baby if that death was a result of something that took place while the baby was still in the womb. While the text change removed the provision decriminalizing killing a newborn after it's born, the bill still has provisions that make it one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation in California.

WHY IS A.B. 2223 STILL DANGEROUS?

DRUG-USE DURING PREGNANCY: Since the mother cannot be investigated or prosecuted for injuries that took place while the baby was in the womb, she can be shielded from civil and criminal charges if her baby dies as a result of illegal drug usage. (Section7)

ABUSE DURING PREGNANCY: If a woman’s unborn baby is injured and dies at the hands of a physical abuser, the abuser can’t be charged or investigated without the consent of the mother. (Section 4) (Section 7)

CORONER POWERS LIMITED: “This bill will delete the requirement that a coroner hold inquests for deaths related to or following known or suspected self-induced or criminal abortion…” If the coroner does an investigation on the cause of death of a newborn or a still born child, that information cannot be used to prosecute anyone with a crime if the mother claims that the child’s death was caused by something that occurred while in the womb. (Legislative Counsel’s Digest (1)) (Section 4) (Section7)

LAW ENFORCEMENT: A.B. 2223 allows women to sue law enforcement for investigating or threatening her “pregnancy outcome.” This will greatly deter law enforcement from investigating suspicious deaths of newborn babies. (Section 9)

BOTCHED ABORTIONS: A.B. 2223 will prevent investigations by a coroner or prosecution of a mother or aide in the case of a botched abortion, as a botched abortion was injury done to the baby while in the womb. (Section 4) (Section 7)

INFANTICIDE: While the amendment to A.B. 2223 largely removes the language that would legalize infanticide, the deterrence of investigations into perinatal death will make it difficult to uncover if a born baby died due to “a cause in utero” or another cause such as the intentional killing of a born baby. (Section 4) (Section 7) (Section 9)

PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTIONS: The deterrence of investigations will also make partial birth abortions, where a baby is killed during delivery, almost impossible to investigate and charge. (Section 4) (Section 7) (Section 9)

While the amendment may have made the bill less dangerous, A.B. 2223 is far from being supportable. A.B. 2223 in its entirety puts babies and women at high risk of injury and abuse, all in the name of “women’s healthcare.”

(To view the status of A.B. 2223 & take action, click here.)