HB 441: Georgia Prenatal Equal Protection Act; enact

This bill, titled the Georgia Prenatal Equal Protection Act, rewrites several parts of Georgia's criminal and civil law dealing with unborn children. It adds a new Code section declaring that the term 'human being' includes an unborn child at every stage from fertilization until birth, and it gives the Attorney General authority alongside local prosecutors to bring cases under that new section. It exempts unintentional harm from efforts to save a mother's life and from spontaneous miscarriages, and it says the change applies only to acts committed after the law takes effect. The bill also removes existing exceptions in Georgia's assault-on-an-unborn-child and battery-on-an-unborn-child laws (O.C.G.A. §§ 16-5-28, 16-5-29) that currently protect abortion-related conduct, consented medical treatment, and pregnant women themselves from prosecution under those sections. It narrows the coercion defense to a murder charge so that it only applies when the victim is an unborn child and the defendant is that child's mother. Finally, it moves the point at which someone can sue over the wrongful death of an unborn child from when a detectable heartbeat is present to the moment of fertilization (O.C.G.A. § 19-7-1).

• Creates a new Code section declaring an unborn child a 'human being' from fertilization until birth for purposes of homicide law, with exceptions for saving a mother's life and for spontaneous miscarriage.
• Gives the Attorney General concurrent authority with local prosecutors to investigate and prosecute cases brought under the new section, including hiring peace officers for that purpose.
• Removes existing legal exceptions that shielded abortion-related conduct, consented medical treatment, and pregnant women from prosecution under the assault and battery laws covering unborn children.
• Narrows the coercion defense so it cannot be used against a murder charge unless the victim is an unborn child and the defendant is that child's mother.
• Moves the starting point for a wrongful-death lawsuit over an unborn child's death from when a detectable heartbeat is present to the moment of fertilization.

Pregnant women and anyone accused of harming an unborn child, prosecutors and the Attorney General's office, medical providers who treat pregnant patients, and family members who might sue over the death of an unborn child are all affected by the bill's changes to Georgia's criminal and civil code.

By defining human life as beginning at fertilization and stripping abortion-related exceptions from the assault and battery statutes, the bill could expose more people to criminal charges or civil liability connected to pregnancy loss or abortion-related conduct, while also changing which pregnancy-related deaths can trigger a lawsuit.

• Section 1 lists legislative findings citing the Georgia and U.S. Constitutions' equal protection guarantees as the basis for the bill.
• Section 2 revises the coercion defense (O.C.G.A. § 16-3-26) so it cannot be used against a murder charge unless the victim is an unborn child and the defendant is the child's mother.
• Section 3 adds new Code Section 16-5-6, the 'Georgia Prenatal Equal Protection Act,' defining 'human being' to include an unborn child from fertilization, creating exceptions for life-saving procedures and miscarriage, and applying the law only to future conduct.
• Section 4 removes the exception in the assault-on-an-unborn-child law (O.C.G.A. § 16-5-28) that shielded abortion-related conduct, medical treatment, and pregnant women from prosecution.
• Section 5 makes the same change to the battery-on-an-unborn-child law (O.C.G.A. § 16-5-29).
• Section 6 amends O.C.G.A. § 19-7-1 so that the right to sue for the wrongful death of an unborn child begins at fertilization rather than when a detectable heartbeat is present.
• Section 7 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-02-19House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-18House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-13House Hopper (House)

• Emory Dunahoo (R, HD-031)Primary sponsor
• Mike Cameron (R, HD-001)
• Charlice Byrd (R, HD-020)
• Danny Mathis (R, HD-133)
• Trey Kelley (R, HD-016)
• Martin Momtahan (R, HD-017)

• abortion law
• fetal personhood
• criminal law
• wrongful death lawsuits
• prenatal rights