House committee substitute makes the following changes to 1st edition.
Amends proposed GS 14-23.2(a), clarifying that a person is guilty of the separate offense of murder of an unborn child if the person does any of the listed acts; makes a conforming change to clarify “separate offense” throughout proposed Article 6A. Amends proposed GS 14-23.2(a)(3), stating that a person is guilty of the separate offense of murder of an unborn child if the person causes the death of the unborn child in perpetration or attempted perpetration of murder in the first or second degree (removes requirement that offense constitute a Class A felony if a person were killed). Clarifies proposed GS 14-23.4(b) to state that the penalty for involuntary manslaughter of an unborn child is a Class F felony (corrects Class E felony classification in previous edition). Amends proposed GS 14-23.5(a), clarifying that a person is guilty of the separate offense of assault inflicting serious bodily injury on an unborn child if the person commits battery on the mother and the child is subsequently born alive and suffered serious bodily harm from the battery. Amends proposed GS 14-23.6 to make a person guilty of the separate offense of battery on an unborn child, as a lesser-included offense, if the person commits battery on a pregnant woman (removes offense of assault from proposed statute), punishable as a Class A1 misdemeanor (was, Class H felony). Amends proposed GS 14-23.7(3) to clarify that the proposed article does not apply to acts committed by a pregnant woman with respect to her own unborn child, as specified.
Provides that, with the exception of an act in which a person causes the death of an unborn child by willfully and maliciously committing an act intending to cause the death of the unborn child, an offense under the proposed article does not require proof that (1) the person engaging in the conduct had knowledge or should have had knowledge that the victim of the underlying offense was pregnant or (2) the defendant intended to cause the death of, or bodily injury to, the unborn child. Makes other linguistic and clarifying changes.