State lawmakers aren't considering a bill to decriminalize infanticide
California lawmakers have sought to turn the Golden State into a refuge for abortion rights, as states like Texas, Florida and Mississippi pass laws that heavily restrict when a person can get an abortion.
“We'll be a sanctuary,” Gov. Gavin Newsom told the Associated Press in an interview in December. “We are looking at ways to support that inevitability and looking at ways to expand our protections.”
One such bill, Assembly Bill 2223, authored by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, aims to shield women and other birthing people from criminal and civil liability in the event of a miscarriage, self-induced or criminal abortion or infant death because of pregnancy-related causes.
At least two women, both in Kings County, have been prosecuted in California for having a miscarriage. Charges were dropped against one woman, but another woman — Adora Perez — remains in custody as her case is returned to the courts for a new trial. Some have decried the bill, including several California churches.
CLAIM >> The California Family Council and other anti-abortion groups contend that AB 2223 would decriminalize infanticide — the killing of newborn infants.
“Decriminalizing infanticide is barbaric and indefensible,” said California Family Council President Jonathan Keller in a statement.
“A political culture that justifies killing millions of children in the womb is now declaring open season on unwanted newborns. Every Californian must oppose this heinous bill.”
RATING >>
False
DETAILS >> Neither the language of the bill, nor the lawmaker's stated intent, supports the allegation that AB 2223 would decriminalize infanticide.
The proposed statute specifies that no one shall be subject to a civil or criminal penalty based on their actions with respect to their pregnancy or pregnancy outcome, “including miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion or perinatal death due to a pregnancyrelated cause.”Critics have focused on the term “perinatal death.” The perinatal period is defined by the California Welfare & Institutions Code as being “the period from the establishment of pregnancy to one month following delivery.”
In response to those concerns, Assemblywoman Wicks agreed to amend the bill to specify that it only applies to perinatal deaths stemming from pregnancyrelated causes.
“Anti-abortion activists are peddling an absurd and disingenuous argument that this bill is about killing newborns, when ironically, the part of the bill they're pointing to is about protecting and supporting parents experiencing the grief of pregnancy loss,” Wicks said in a statement. “No person should face prison time for a tragic pregnancy outcome, and this bill will ensure that prosecutions and investigations have no place in reproductive health care.”
According to an Assembly Judiciary Committee analysis of the bill, AB 2223 would not prevent authorities from being able to investigate the facts of a newborn child's death, including whether the child was born alive, and when and how the child died. The bill would only prevent further criminal investigation of the parent in the event that the death was determined to have a pregnancy-related cause.