Minnesota Session Laws - 1986, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1986 

                        CHAPTER 388-H.F.No. 1844 
           An act relating to crimes; creating certain crimes 
          against an unborn child; prohibiting acts which cause 
          the death of or injury to an unborn child; imposing 
          penalties; amending Minnesota Statutes 1984, sections 
          609.035; 609.18; and 609.21, by adding subdivisions; 
          proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
          chapter 609. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 609.035, is 
amended to read: 
    609.035 [CRIME PUNISHABLE UNDER DIFFERENT PROVISIONS.] 
    Except as provided in section sections 609.251 and, 609.585 
, and sections 3, 4, and 16, if a person's conduct constitutes 
more than one offense under the laws of this state, he may be 
punished for only one of the offenses and a conviction or 
acquittal of any one of them is a bar to prosecution for any 
other of them.  All the offenses, if prosecuted, shall be 
included in one prosecution which shall be stated in separate 
counts.  
    Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 609.18, is 
amended to read: 
    609.18 [DEFINITION.] 
    For the purposes of sections 609.185 and, 609.19, 6, and 
7, "premeditation" means to consider, plan or prepare for, or 
determine to commit, the act referred to prior to its commission.
    Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 609.21, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read:  
    Subd. 3.  [RESULTING IN DEATH TO AN UNBORN CHILD.] Whoever 
causes the death of an unborn child as a result of operating a 
vehicle defined in section 169.01, subdivision 2, or an aircraft 
or watercraft, 
    (1) in a grossly negligent manner;  
    (2) in a negligent manner while under the influence of 
alcohol, a controlled substance, or any combination of those 
elements; or 
    (3) in a negligent manner while having an alcohol 
concentration of 0.10 or more, is guilty of criminal vehicular 
operation resulting in death to an unborn child and may be 
sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years or to 
payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.  A 
prosecution for or conviction of a crime under this subdivision 
is not a bar to conviction of or punishment for any other crime 
committed by the defendant as part of the same conduct. 
    Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1984, section 609.21, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 4.  [RESULTING IN INJURY TO UNBORN CHILD.] Whoever 
causes great bodily harm, as defined in section 609.02, 
subdivision 8, to an unborn child who is subsequently born 
alive, as a result of operating a vehicle defined in section 
169.01, subdivision 2, or an aircraft or watercraft, 
    (1) in a grossly negligent manner;  
    (2) in a negligent manner while under the influence of 
alcohol, a controlled substance, or any combination of those 
elements; or 
    (3) in a negligent manner while having an alcohol 
concentration of 0.10 or more, is guilty of criminal vehicular 
operation resulting in injury to an unborn child and may be 
sentenced to imprisonment for not more than three years or to 
payment of a fine of not more than $5,000, or both.  A 
prosecution for or conviction of a crime under this subdivision 
is not a bar to conviction of or punishment for any other crime 
committed by the defendant as part of the same conduct. 
    Sec. 5.  [609.266] [DEFINITIONS.] 
     The definitions in this subdivision apply to sections 3, 4, 
and 6 to 14: 
    (a) "Unborn child" means the unborn offspring of a human 
being conceived, but not yet born. 
     (b) "Whoever" does not include the pregnant woman. 
    Sec. 6.  [609.2661] [MURDER OF AN UNBORN CHILD IN THE FIRST 
DEGREE.] 
    Whoever does any of the following is guilty of murder of an 
unborn child in the first degree and must be sentenced to 
imprisonment for life: 
    (1) causes the death of an unborn child with premeditation 
and with intent to effect the death of the unborn child or of 
another; 
    (2) causes the death of an unborn child while committing or 
attempting to commit criminal sexual conduct in the first or 
second degree with force or violence, either upon or affecting 
the mother of the unborn child or another; or 
    (3) causes the death of an unborn child with intent to 
effect the death of the unborn child or another while committing 
or attempting to commit burglary, aggravated robbery, 
kidnapping, arson in the first or second degree, tampering with 
a witness in the first degree, or escape from custody. 
    Sec. 7.  [609.2662] [MURDER OF AN UNBORN CHILD IN THE 
SECOND DEGREE.] 
    Whoever does either of the following is guilty of murder of 
an unborn child in the second degree and may be sentenced to 
imprisonment for not more than 40 years: 
    (1) causes the death of an unborn child with intent to 
effect the death of that unborn child or another, but without 
premeditation; or 
    (2) causes the death of an unborn child, without intent to 
effect the death of any unborn child or person, while committing 
or attempting to commit a felony offense other than criminal 
sexual conduct in the first or second degree with force or 
violence. 
    Sec. 8.  [609.2663] [MURDER OF AN UNBORN CHILD IN THE THIRD 
DEGREE.] 
    Whoever, without intent to effect the death of any unborn 
child or person, causes the death of an unborn child by 
perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a 
depraved mind, without regard for human or fetal life, is guilty 
of murder of an unborn child in the third degree and may be 
sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 25 years. 
    Sec. 9.  [609.2664] [MANSLAUGHTER OF AN UNBORN CHILD IN THE 
FIRST DEGREE.] 
    Whoever does any of the following is guilty of manslaughter 
of an unborn child in the first degree and may be sentenced to 
imprisonment for not more than 15 years or to payment of a fine 
of not more than $30,000, or both: 
    (1) intentionally causes the death of an unborn child in 
the heat of passion provoked by such words or acts of another as 
would provoke a person of ordinary self-control under like 
circumstances; 
    (2) causes the death of an unborn child in committing or 
attempting to commit a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor offense 
with such force or violence that death of or great bodily harm 
to any person or unborn child was reasonably foreseeable, and 
murder of an unborn child in the first or second degree was not 
committed thereby; or 
    (3) intentionally causes the death of an unborn child 
because the actor is coerced by threats made by someone other 
than the actor's co-conspirator and which cause the actor to 
reasonably believe that his or her act is the only means of 
preventing imminent death to the actor or another. 
    Sec. 10.  [609.2665] [MANSLAUGHTER OF AN UNBORN CHILD IN 
THE SECOND DEGREE.] 
    A person who causes the death of an unborn child by any of 
the following means is guilty of manslaughter of an unborn child 
in the second degree and may be sentenced to imprisonment for 
not more than seven years or to payment of a fine of not more 
than $14,000, or both: 
    (1) by the actor's culpable negligence whereby the actor 
creates an unreasonable risk and consciously takes chances of 
causing death or great bodily harm to an unborn child or a 
person; 
    (2) by shooting the mother of the unborn child with a 
firearm or other dangerous weapon as a result of negligently 
believing her to be a deer or other animal; 
    (3) by setting a spring gun, pit fall, deadfall, snare, or 
other like dangerous weapon or device; or 
    (4) by negligently or intentionally permitting any animal, 
known by the person to have vicious propensities or to have 
caused great or substantial bodily harm in the past, to run 
uncontrolled off the owner's premises, or negligently failing to 
keep it properly confined. 
    If proven by a preponderance of the evidence, it shall be 
an affirmative defense to criminal liability under clause (4) 
that the mother of the unborn child provoked the animal to cause 
the unborn child's death. 
    Sec. 11.  [609.267] [ASSAULT OF AN UNBORN CHILD IN THE 
FIRST DEGREE.] 
     Whoever assaults a pregnant woman and inflicts great bodily 
harm on an unborn child who is subsequently born alive may be 
sentenced to imprisonment for not more than ten years or to 
payment of a fine of not more than $20,000, or both.  
    Sec. 12.  [609.2671] [ASSAULT OF AN UNBORN CHILD IN THE 
SECOND DEGREE.] 
    Whoever assaults a pregnant woman and inflicts substantial 
bodily harm on an unborn child who is subsequently born alive 
may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years or 
to payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both. 
    Sec. 13.  [609.2672] [ASSAULT OF AN UNBORN CHILD IN THE 
THIRD DEGREE.] 
    Whoever does any of the following commits an assault of an 
unborn child in the third degree and is guilty of a misdemeanor: 
     (1) commits an act with intent to cause fear in a pregnant 
woman of immediate bodily harm or death to the unborn child; or 
     (2) intentionally inflicts or attempts to inflict bodily 
harm on an unborn child who is subsequently born alive. 
    Sec. 14.  [609.268] [INJURY OR DEATH OF AN UNBORN CHILD IN 
COMMISSION OF CRIME.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [DEATH OF AN UNBORN CHILD.] Whoever, in the 
commission of a felony or in a violation of sections 609.224, 
609.23, or 609.231, causes the death of an unborn child is 
guilty of a felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not 
more than 15 years or to payment of a fine not more than 
$30,000, or both.  As used in this subdivision, "felony" does 
not include a violation of sections 609.185 to 609.21, 609.221 
to 609.2231, or sections 6 to 10.  
     Subd. 2.  [INJURY TO AN UNBORN CHILD.] Whoever, in the 
commission of a felony or in a violation of sections 609.23 or 
609.231, causes great or substantial bodily harm to an unborn 
child who is subsequently born alive, is guilty of a felony and 
may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than ten years or 
to payment of a fine of not more than $20,000, or both.  As used 
in this subdivision, "felony" does not include a violation of 
sections 609.21, 609.221 to 609.2231, or sections 11 to 13. 
    Sec. 15.  [609.269] [EXCEPTION.] 
    Sections 6 to 14 do not apply to any act described in 
section 145.412. 
    Sec. 16.  [609.2691] [OTHER CONVICTIONS NOT BARRED.] 
    Notwithstanding section 609.04, a prosecution for or 
conviction under sections 6 to 14 is not a bar to conviction of 
or punishment for any other crime committed by the defendant as 
part of the same conduct. 
    Sec. 17.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
    Sections 1 to 16 are effective August 1, 1986, and apply to 
crimes committed on or after that date. 
    Approved March 21, 1986