HB 177-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2007 SESSION
04/10
HOUSE BILL 177-FN
AN ACT including “unborn child” in the definition of “another” for the purpose of first and second degree murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide.
SPONSORS: Rep. Dumaine, Rock 3; Rep. Itse, Rock 9; Rep. J. Garrity, Rock 6; Rep. Boyce, Belk 5; Rep. N. Elliott, Hills 19
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
This bill provides that an unborn child shall be included in the definition of “another” for the purpose of first and second degree murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
07-0075
04/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven
AN ACT including “unborn child” in the definition of “another” for the purpose of first and second degree murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Homicide; Capital Murder; Definition of Unborn Child. Amend RSA 630:1, IV to read as follows:
IV. As used in this section [and RSA 630:1-a, 1-b, 2, 3 and 4], the meaning of “another” does not include a foetus.
2 New Paragraphs; First Degree Murder; Definition of Another; Exemption for Abortion. Amend RSA 630:1-a by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraphs:
IV. For the purpose of this section and RSA 630:1-b, RSA 630:2, RSA 630:3, and RSA 630:4, the meaning of “another” shall include an unborn child as defined in paragraph V.
V.(a) Nothing in this section or RSA 630:1-b, RSA 630:2, RSA 630:3, or RSA 630:4 shall apply to any act committed by the mother of the unborn child, to any medical procedure including abortion, performed by a physician or other licensed medical professional at the request of the pregnant woman or her legal guardian, or to the lawful dispensation or administration of lawfully prescribed medication. For the purposes of this section and RSA 630:1-b, RSA 630:2, RSA 630:3, or RSA 630:4, “abortion” means the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman with knowledge that the termination by those means will, with reasonable likelihood, cause the death of the unborn child. Such use, prescription, or means is not an abortion if done with the intent to save the life or preserve the health of an unborn child, or to remove a dead unborn child caused by spontaneous abortion, or to remove an ectopic pregnancy.
(b) In this section:
(1) “Conception” means the fusion of a human spermatozoon with a human ovum.
(2) “Pregnant” means the female reproductive condition of having an unborn child in the woman’s body.
(3) “Unborn child” means the offspring of human beings from conception until birth.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2008.
LBAO
07-0075
1/12/07
HB 177-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT including “unborn child” in the definition of “another” for the purpose of first and second degree murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, Department of Justice, and Department of Corrections state this bill may increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2008 and each year thereafter. This bill will have no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue or county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states this bill would include an unborn child in the definition of “another” for purposes of murder first, murder second, manslaughter, and negligent homicide. This bill may result in additional court cases. Because of the presence of a charge relating to an unborn child, any such case is likely to generate great publicity adding to the potential cost. The Branch states the cost of a full day’s jury trial in the Superior Court is $1,693. The cost of preliminary hearings, time to write a charge to the jury, and clerical processing would bring this cost in excess of $2,000 per day. Given the subject matter of such a trial and the publicity it would generate, the court would also have to consider the need for additional security at additional cost. Should a decision be appealed, several thousand dollars of additional costs would be incurred in the judge, law clerk, and staff time at the Supreme Court. The Branch is unable to determine the exact fiscal impact at this time.
The Judicial Council assumes that any cases arising from the enactment of this bill for which the Indigent Defense Fund may be liable will, in the first instance, be handled by the public defender or an assigned counsel attorney. Contract counsel does not accept murder cases and there is no applicable rate for these cases. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used, the hourly rate of $60 with a fee cap of $15,000 for homicide cases will apply. The Council assumes the public defender would be paid a flat fee of $15,000 since usually more than one attorney is appointed in these cases. If a motion to exceed the fee cap is approved and/or “services other than counsel” are approved, these will also be chargeable to the Indigent Defense Fund. Any offense within the criminal justice system, committed by a juvenile, will be compensated within the flat fee contract system of $275 per case through disposition, plus $206.25 for each and
LBAO
07-0075
1/12/07
every review hearing following disposition. The Council is unable to predict the number of cases which may result from the passage of this bill, and are unable to determine the exact fiscal impact at this time.
The Department of Justice states the Criminal Justice Bureau is responsible for prosecuting the offenses contained in this bill, except negligent homicide. New Hampshire averages 21 murders per year, and over the past ten years an average of 50% of them have been domestic violence related. As pregnancy is often the catalyst for violence, it is likely this bill could result in an additional one or two homicide prosecutions per year. The Department is unable to determine the exact fiscal impact at this time.
The Department of Corrections states they are unable to determine the fiscal impact at this time since the number of individuals violating the provisions of this bill cannot be predicted. The average annual cost of incarcerating an individual in the general prison population was $31,140 for FY 2006. The cost to supervise an offender by the Department’s Division of Field Services was $1,174 for FY 2006.