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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to civil liability for the wrongful 2
death of an unborn child; reordering and amending s. 3
768.18, F.S.; revising the definition of the term 4
"survivors" to include the parents of an unborn child; 5
providing a definition for the term "unborn child"; 6
amending s. 768.19, F.S.; prohibiting a right of 7
action against the mother for the wrongful death of an 8
unborn child or against a medical provider fo r lawful 9
medical care provided in certain circumstances; 10
amending s. 768.21, F.S.; authorizing parents of an 11
unborn child to recover certain damages; prohibiting 12
the recovery of certain damages if the decedent is an 13
unborn child; conforming a cross -reference; providing 14
an effective date. 15
16
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 17
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Section 1. Section 768.18, Florida Statutes, is reordered 19
and amended to read: 20
768.18 Definitions. —As used in ss. 768.16 -768.26: 21
(1)(2) "Minor children" means children under 25 years of 22
age, notwithstanding the age of majority. 23
(2)(5) "Net accumulations" means the part of the 24
decedent's expected net business or salary income, including 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
pension benefits, that the decedent probably would have retained 26
as savings and left as part of her or his estate if the decedent 27
had lived her or his normal life expectancy. "Net business or 28
salary income" is the part of the decedent's probable gross 29
income after taxes, excluding income from investments continuing 30
beyond death, that remains after deducting the decedent's 31
personal expenses and support of survivors, excluding 32
contributions in kind. 33
(3)(4) "Services" means tasks, usually of a household 34
nature, regularly performed by the decedent that will be a 35
necessary expense to the survivors of the decedent. These 36
services may vary according to the identity of the decedent and 37
survivor and shall be determined under the particular facts of 38
each case. 39
(4)(3) "Support" includes contributions in kind as well as 40
money. 41
(5)(1) "Survivors" means the decedent's spouse, children, 42
parents, and, when partly or wholly dependent on the decedent 43
for support or services, any blood relatives and adoptive 44
brothers and sisters. It includes the child born out of wedlock 45
of a mother, but not the child born out of wedlock of the father 46
unless the father has recognized a responsibility for the 47
child's support. It also includes the parents of an unborn 48
child. 49
(6) "Unborn child" means a member of the species Homo 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
sapiens, at any stage of de velopment, who is carried in the 51
womb. 52
Section 2. Section 768.19, Florida Statutes, is amended to 53
read: 54
768.19 Right of action. — 55
(1) When the death of a person is caused by the wrongful 56
act, negligence, default, or breach of contract or warranty of 57
any person, including those occurring on navigable waters, and 58
the event would have entitled the person injured to maintain an 59
action and recover damages if death had not ensued, the person 60
or watercraft that would have been liable in damages if death 61
had not ensued shall be liable for damages as specified in this 62
act notwithstanding the death of the person injured, although 63
death was caused under circumstances constituting a felony. 64
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, a 65
wrongful death action for the death of an unborn child may not 66
be brought against the mother of the unborn child or against a 67
medical provider for lawful medical care provided in compliance 68
with the applicable standard of care, including, but not limited 69
to, care related to assisted reproductive technologies as 70
defined in s. 742.13, provided with the consent of the mother. 71
Section 3. Subsection (4) and paragraph (a) of subsection 72
(6) of section 768.21, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 73
768.21 Damages.—All potential beneficiaries of a recovery 74
for wrongful death, including the decedent's estate, shall be 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
identified in the complaint, and their relationships to the 76
decedent shall be alleged. Damages may be awarded as follows: 77
(4) Each parent of a deceased minor child or an unborn 78
child may also recover for mental pain and suffering from the 79
date of injury. Each parent of an adult child may also recover 80
for mental pain and suffering if there are no other survivors. 81
(6) The decedent's personal representative may recover for 82
the decedent's estate the following: 83
(a) Loss of earnings of the deceased from the date of 84
injury to the date of death, less lost support of survivors 85
excluding contributions in kind, with interest. Loss of the 86
prospective net accumulations of an estate, which might 87
reasonably have been expected but for the wrongful death, 88
reduced to present money value, may also be recovered: 89
1. If the decedent's survivors include a surviving spouse 90
or lineal descendants; or 91
2. If the decedent is not a minor child or an unborn child 92
as those terms are defined in s. 768.18 s. 768.18(2), there are 93
no lost support and services recoverable under subsection (1), 94
and there is a surviving parent. 95
96
Evidence of remarriage of the decedent's spouse is admissible. 97
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 98