Justice for the Preborn Act

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Drafting note: This follows Missouri bill format. Text in bold is new language added to existing law. Text in [brackets] is existing law to be deleted. Section numbers and quotations of current law were checked against the Revisor of Statutes (revisor.mo.gov) on October 28, 2026.

AN ACT to repeal sections 1.205, 188.017, 537.080, and 565.300, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof five new sections relating to the protection of preborn children under the homicide, assault, and wrongful death laws of this state.

WHEREAS, God has commanded, "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13), and "Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man" (Genesis 9:6); and

WHEREAS, the life of each human being begins at fertilization, as this state has declared in section 1.205 since 1986; and

WHEREAS, the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides that no state shall "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws," and Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of Missouri declares that all persons have a natural right to life; and

WHEREAS, the laws of this state nonetheless treat the deliberate killing of a preborn child by abortion as a lesser offense than the killing of any other human being, and exempt the mother from prosecution; and

WHEREAS, the Constitution of the United States, and the laws made in pursuance thereof, "shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding" (U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2); and

WHEREAS, all preborn children should be protected by the same criminal laws that protect born persons, and every person accused under those laws is entitled to the same due process;

Now, therefore:

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:

Section A. Sections 1.205, 188.017, 537.080, and 565.300, RSMo, are repealed and five new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 1.205, 188.017, 537.080, 565.300, and 565.006, to read as follows:

1.205. Life begins at fertilization — equal protection of the preborn child.

1. The general assembly of this state finds that: (1) The life of each human being begins at [conception] fertilization; (2) Unborn children have protectable interests in life, health, and well-being; (3) The natural parents of unborn children have protectable interests in the life, health, and well-being of their unborn child.

2. [Effective January 1, 1988,] The laws of this state shall be interpreted and construed to acknowledge on behalf of the unborn child at every stage of development, all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of this state[, subject only to the Constitution of the United States, and decisional interpretations thereof by the United States Supreme Court and specific provisions to the contrary in the statutes and constitution of this state] , including the equal protection of the laws against homicide and assault.

3. As used in this section, the term "unborn children" or "unborn child" shall include all unborn child or children or the offspring of human beings from the moment of [conception] fertilization until birth at every stage of biological development.

4. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as creating a cause of action against a woman for indirectly harming her unborn child by failing to properly care for herself or by failing to follow any particular program of prenatal care. This subsection shall not apply to any act done with the purpose of causing the death of an unborn child.

565.006. Justice for the Preborn Act — preborn child protected under homicide and assault laws. (new section)

1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Justice for the Preborn Act".

2. As used in this section: (1) "Fertilization", the fusion of a human spermatozoon with a human ovum; (2) "Preborn child", a living individual organism of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development from fertilization until birth, whether in the womb or elsewhere.

3. As used in sections 565.020 to 565.027 and sections 565.050 to 565.056, and in any other provision of this chapter defining an offense against another person, the terms "person", "another person", and "human being" include a preborn child.

4. No person who causes the death of or injury to a preborn child shall be exempt from prosecution under this chapter because the act was an abortion, because the act was performed or requested by the child's mother, or because the act was performed by a physician or other licensed health care provider.

5. This section shall not apply to: (1) A spontaneous miscarriage; (2) The unintentional death of or injury to a preborn child resulting from medical treatment of the mother undertaken to save her life, when reasonable steps, if available, are taken to save the life of the preborn child.

6. Enforcement of this section shall be subject to the same presumptions, defenses, justifications, immunities, clemencies, and other due process protections that would apply if the victim were a person who had been born alive. No exception or immunity shall apply under this section on account of the age, stage of development, location, or manner of conception of the preborn child, or of the relationship between the preborn child and the accused.

7. It shall not be a defense to a prosecution under this chapter that the act was lawful in the place where any part of it occurred, or was authorized by any statute, regulation, license, or order of this state or of any other jurisdiction.

8. If any provision of state law conflicts with this section, this section shall prevail.

188.017. [Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act — limitation on abortions] Abortion prosecuted as homicide.

1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Right to Life of the Unborn Child Act".

2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no abortion shall be performed or induced upon a woman[, except in cases of medical emergency]. Any person who knowingly performs or induces an abortion of an unborn child in violation of this subsection shall be [guilty of a class B felony, as well as] prosecuted under chapter 565 as provided in section 565.006, and shall be subject to suspension or revocation of his or her professional license by his or her professional licensing board. [A woman upon whom an abortion is performed or induced in violation of this subsection shall not be prosecuted for a conspiracy to violate the provisions of this subsection.]

[3. It shall be an affirmative defense for any person alleged to have violated the provisions of subsection 2 of this section that the person performed or induced an abortion because of a medical emergency. The defendant shall have the burden of persuasion that the defense is more probably true than not.]

[4. The enactment of this section shall only become effective upon notification to the revisor of statutes ... (contingent effective date, already satisfied June 24, 2022).]

3. Any provision of this chapter that authorizes, permits, or provides a defense for an abortion shall be void to the extent it conflicts with section 565.006.

565.300. Infant's Protection Act (subsection 6 only)

[6. This section shall not apply to any person who performs or attempts to perform a legal abortion if the act that causes the death is performed prior to the child being partially born, even though the death of the child occurs as a result of the abortion after the child is partially born.]

6. Nothing in this section shall prevent prosecution under section 565.006 for the death of a preborn child.

537.080. Action for wrongful death (new subsections 3 to 5 only; subsections 1 and 2 unchanged)

3. As used in sections 537.080 to 537.100, the term "person" includes a preborn child, as defined in section 565.006, and the death of a preborn child resulting from any wrongful act, including an abortion, shall give rise to an action under this section.

4. This section shall not apply to the death of a preborn child resulting from: (1) A spontaneous miscarriage; or (2) Medical treatment of the mother undertaken to save her life, when reasonable steps, if available, are taken to save the life of the preborn child.

5. No person who performed, induced, procured, or consented to the abortion that caused the death of a preborn child shall be entitled to bring an action or share in any recovery under this section for that death.

Section B. Duty to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

1. Every officer of this state and of its political subdivisions, being bound by oath to support the Constitution of the United States, shall enforce this act according to its terms. No officer shall treat as binding any judicial decision, order, or opinion that purports to deny the equal protection of the laws to preborn children, or that purports to recognize a right to murder a preborn child, whether under the Constitution of the United States or under Article I, Section 36 of the Constitution of Missouri or any successor provision, because any such decision, order, or provision is contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment and void under Article VI, Clause 2 of the Constitution of the United States.

2. Any federal or state law, regulation, order, or ruling that purports to authorize or protect abortion is void in this state to the extent it conflicts with this act.

Section C. Prospective application.

This act shall apply only to conduct committed on or after its effective date.

Section D. Severability.

If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable.

Section E. Effective date.

This act shall take effect on August 28 following its passage and approval.

Sources: RSMo 1.205, 188.015, 188.017, 188.075, 537.080, 565.002, 565.020, 565.021, 565.024, 565.050, 565.300, and Mo. Const. art. I, § 36, at revisor.mo.gov; Kansas HB 2789 (2026), the Abolish Abortion Kansas Act, at kslegislature.gov, whose approach this model follows.