---
title: HB 441. Georgia Prenatal Equal Protection Act; enact
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb441
cite_as: HB 441, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb441
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb441.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb441/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70313
date: 2025-02-19
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb440.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb442.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb441.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 441
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-13
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Emory Dunahoo
- Mike Cameron
- Charlice Byrd
- Danny Mathis
- Trey Kelley
- Martin Momtahan
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB441/2025
upstream_id: 1970335
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- abortion law
- fetal personhood
- criminal law
- wrongful death lawsuits
- prenatal rights
---
# HB 441. Georgia Prenatal Equal Protection Act; enact
## Text
House Bill 441
By: Representatives Dunahoo of the 31st, Carpenter of the 4th, Byrd of the 20th, Mathis of the
133rd, Kelley of the 16th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to crimes and
offenses, so as to provide for a coercion defense to a charge of murder for defendant mothers
of unborn children; to provide a short title; to provide for a definition; to provide for
construction; to provide for exceptions; to provide for concurrent prosecuting authority of
the Attorney General and prosecuting attorneys in certain cases; to provide for applicability;
to remove exceptions that allow for assault and battery on an unborn child; to amend Code
Section 19-7-1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to in whom parental
power lies, how such power lost, and recovery for homicide of a child or unborn child, so as
to provide for the right to recovery for the life of a child beginning at the stage of
fertilization; to provide for related matters; to provide for legislative findings and
determinations; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
The General Assembly finds and determines that:
(1) Article I, Section I, Paragraph I of the Georgia Constitution provides, "No person shall
be deprived of life, liberty, or property except by due process of law.";
(2) Article I, Section I, Paragraph II of the Georgia Constitution provides, "Protection to
person and property is the paramount duty of government and shall be impartial and
complete. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws.";
(3) The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States requires that "[n]o
state...shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws";
(4) To fulfill such right to life and equal protection requirements, the lives of unborn
persons in this state should be protected with the same criminal and civil laws protecting
the lives of born persons by removing provisions that enable the commission of willful
prenatal homicide and assault; and
(5) Current provisions could be interpreted to allow a person to pressure a pregnant mother
to abort her child, and such provisions should be removed.
SECTION 2.
Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to crimes and offenses, is
amended by revising Code Section 16-3-26, relating to coercion, as follows:
"16-3-26.
A person is not guilty of a crime, except murder, if the act upon which the supposed
criminal liability is based is performed under such coercion that the person reasonably
believes that performing the act is the only way to prevent his imminent death or great
bodily injury.
(a) A person is not guilty of a crime if the act upon which the supposed criminal liability
is based is performed under such coercion that the person reasonably believes that the
performance of the act is the only way to prevent his or her imminent death or great bodily
injury.
(b) The defense of coercion provided by subsection (a) of this Code section shall not apply
to a charge of murder unless the victim is an unborn child and the defendant is the child's
mother."
SECTION 3.
Said title is further amended in Article 1 of Chapter 5, relating to homicide, by adding a new
Code section to read as follows:
"16-5-6.
(a) This Code section shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia Prenatal Equal
Protection Act.'
(b) As used in this article, the term 'human being' includes a living human and an unborn
child at every stage of development from fertilization until birth.
(c) Enforcement pursuant to this Code section is subject to the same presumptions,
defenses, justifications, laws of parties, immunities, and clemencies as would apply to the
homicide of a person who had been born alive.
(d) This chapter shall not apply to the unintentional injury or death of an unborn child
when resulting from:
(1) The undertaking of procedures to save the life of a mother when accompanied by
reasonable steps, if available, to save the life of her unborn child; or
(2) A spontaneous miscarriage.
(e) Prosecuting attorneys and the Attorney General shall have concurrent authority to
prosecute any criminal cases arising under the provisions of this Code section and to
perform any necessary related duty. For purposes of investigating offenses or criminal
cases arising under the provisions of this Code section, the Attorney General shall have the
authority to employ peace officers.
(f) This Code section prevails over other law to the extent of any conflict.
(g) In accordance with Article I, Section I, Paragraph X of the Georgia Constitution,
Article I, Section 9, Clause 3 of the Constitution of the United States, and Code
Section 1-3-5, this Code section is prospective only and shall not apply to any act
committed prior to the effective date of this Act."
SECTION 4.
Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 16-5-28, relating to assault on an
unborn child, as follows:
"16-5-28.
(a) For the purposes of this Code section, the term 'unborn child' means a member of the
species homo sapiens at any stage of development who is carried in the womb.
(b) A person commits the offense of assault of an unborn child when such person, without
legal justification, attempts to inflict violent injury to an unborn child.
(c) Any person convicted of the offense of assault of an unborn child shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor.
(d) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to permit the prosecution of:
(1) Any person for conduct relating to an abortion for which the consent of the pregnant
woman, or person authorized by law to act on her behalf, has been obtained or for which
such consent is implied by law;
(2) Any person for any medical treatment of the pregnant woman or her unborn child;
or
(3) Any woman with respect to her unborn child."
SECTION 5.
Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 16-5-29, relating to battery of an
unborn child, as follows:
"16-5-29.
(a) For the purposes of this Code section, the term 'unborn child' means a member of the
species homo sapiens at any stage of development who is carried in the womb.
(b) A person commits the offense of battery of an unborn child when such person, without
legal justification, intentionally inflicts physical harm upon an unborn child.
(c) A person convicted of the offense of battery of an unborn child shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor.
(d) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to permit the prosecution of:
(1) Any person for conduct relating to an abortion for which the consent of the pregnant
woman, or person authorized by law to act on her behalf, has been obtained or for which
such consent is implied by law;
(2) Any person for any medical treatment of the pregnant woman or her unborn child;
or
(3) Any woman with respect to her unborn child."
SECTION 6.
Code Section 19-7-1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to in whom parental
power lies, how such power lost, and recovery for homicide of a child or unborn child, is
amended by revising paragraph (1) of subsection (c) as follows:
"(c)(1) In every case of the homicide of a child, minor or sui juris, there shall be some
party entitled to recover the full value of the life of the child, either as provided in this
Code section or as provided in Chapter 4 of Title 51. For the homicide of an unborn
child, the right to recover for the full value of the life of such child shall begin at the point
at which a detectable human heartbeat, as such term is defined in Code Section 1-2-1, is
present fertilization."
SECTION 7.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia House bill would define unborn children as human beings from the moment of fertilization for purposes of homicide law, remove abortion-related exceptions from the state's fetal assault and battery statutes, and move the point at which wrongful-death lawsuits can be filed over an unborn child's death back to fertilization instead of a detectable heartbeat.
### Plain-language summary
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).
### What it does
- 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.
### Who it affects
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.
### Why it matters
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.
### Key provisions
- 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.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-13)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-19)
- Sponsors: Emory Dunahoo, Mike Cameron, Charlice Byrd, Danny Mathis, Trey Kelley, Martin Momtahan
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70313
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb441.md?full=1