Opinion ID: 2638563
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Definition of Unborn Child in Other Chapters of the Utah Criminal Code and in Other Jurisdictions

Text: ¶ 20 This definition is consistent with how the term unborn child is used in other parts of the criminal code. For example, in a chapter of the criminal code that regulates abortions, the legislature mandates that informational materials be made available to any person contemplating an abortion. Utah Code Ann. § 76-7-305.5(1) (1999). The informational materials must include the probable anatomical and physiological characteristics of the unborn child at two-week gestational increments from fertilization to full term, accompanied by pictures or video segments representing the development of an unborn child at those gestational increments. Id. § 76-7-305.5(1)(b) (emphasis added). ¶ 21 Additionally, the legislature mandates that the Utah Department of Health produce a videotape show[ing] an ultrasound of the heart beat of an unborn child at three weeks gestational age, at six to eight weeks gestational age, and each month thereafter, until 14 weeks gestational age.  Id. § 76-7-305.5(4) (emphasis added). Thus, when the plain language of the criminal homicide statute is read in harmony with other chapters of the criminal code, it is clear that the legislature intended the term unborn child to encompass the period from fertilization to birth. ¶ 22 Finally, case law from other jurisdictions recognizes that [t]here is no unconstitutional vagueness in the description of the unborn as the `unborn child.' Brinkley v. Georgia, 253 Ga. 541, 322 S.E.2d 49, 53 (1984) (affirming convictions of co-defendants for violation of Georgia's feticide statute). Specifically, the Georgia Supreme Court noted that the term unborn child in Georgia's feticide statute would have clearly cover[ed] the entire period of pregnancy if the legislature had not limited it to the period where an unborn child is so far developed as to be ordinarily called `quick.' Id. at 51, 53 (quoting Ga.Code Ann. § 16-5-80 (1982)). The court's conclusion that the state's feticide statute was not unconstitutionally vague was later followed by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Smith v. Newsome, 815 F.2d 1386, 1387-88 (11th Cir.1987).