By Ruth Brown, Idaho Reports
House State Affairs voted Tuesday to introduce a bill that changes the word “fetus” to “preborn child” in multiple sections of Idaho law.
The 19-page bill, sponsored by Rep. Julianne Young, R-Blackfoot, changed the term “fetus” to “preborn child” or “child” more than 70 times under various sections of code. The term “fetus” is currently used in abortion laws, surrogacy laws, criminal battery laws, manslaughter and murder laws, death and stillborn registration laws and others. The bill would change to that word to either “child” or “preborn child.”
“It doesn’t change legal definitions, so it’s not a substantive change in policy, but it does replace a medicalized term with a term that we all understand to be a person, which is the position of the state of Idaho when it comes to our preborn children,” Young told the committee.
Rep. Colin Nash, D-Boise, voted for the bill to be introduced but told Young he would have more questions about the legal implications of the bill.
“Is this an expression of our values or trying to make this more consistent with Idaho Code or is there potential to grant more legal rights like we might grant to live born children,” Nash asked Young. “So just to give you a preview of what I might like to drill down on in a full hearing.”
There are sections of Idaho code under juvenile proceedings where a “child” is defined as “any individual who is under the age of eighteen years.” Individuals in Idaho are entitled to a variety of civil rights, per law and the Idaho Constitution.
It’s unclear if Young’s bill would entitle what is now called a “fetus” to those same rights.
STILLBORNS AND VITAL STATISTICS
There are other changes to law in the bill with terms other than “preborn child.”
Under Idaho law 39-241, regarding vital statistics, the bill would change the definition of a stillborn fetus to a stillborn “child.” That section of code requires Idaho to report and record deaths of any kind.
Under Idaho law 39-9303, regarding unborn infants and pathological studies, the bill would remove “fetal or skeletal” parts and replace it with “identifiable” parts in addition to changing it to “death of a preborn child” rather than “fetal death.”
The bill still must receive a full hearing before the House State Affairs Committee. A date had not been set, as of Tuesday morning.
Ruth Brown | Producer
Ruth Brown grew up in South Dakota and her first job out of college was covering the South Dakota Legislature. She’s since moved on to Idaho lawmakers. Brown spent 10 years working in print journalism, including newspapers such as the Idaho Statesman and Idaho Press, where she’s covered everything from the correctional system to health care issues. She joined Idaho Reports in 2021 and looks forward to telling stories about how state policy can impact the lives of regular Idahoans.