Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SB619 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
3	3	and is intended to be omitted in the law.
4	4	FIRST REGULAR SESSION
5	5	SENATE BILL NO. 619
6	6	103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
7	7	INTRODUCED BY SENATOR MOON.
8	8	2420S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	To repeal sections 541.033, 562.071, 563.026, and 565.002, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof
11	11	five new sections relating to the protection of unborn children, with a referendum
12	12	clause.
13	13
14	14	Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
15	15	Section A. Sections 541.033, 562.071, 563.026, and 1
16	16	565.002, RSMo, are repealed and five new sections enacted in 2
17	17	lieu thereof, to be known as sections 1.207, 541.033, 562.071, 3
18	18	563.026, and 565.002, to read as follows:4
19	19	1.207. 1. This section shall be known and may be 1
20	20	cited as the "Equal Protection Act". 2
21	21	2. Acknowledging the sanctity of innocent human li fe, 3
22	22	created in the image of God, it is the intent of the general 4
23	23	assembly: 5
24	24	(1) To acknowledge the sanctity of innocent human 6
25	25	life, created in the image of God, which should be equally 7
26	26	protected from the beginning of biological development to 8
27	27	natural death; 9
28	28	(2) To acknowledge the Constitution of the United 10
29	29	States as overriding anything in the constitution of this 11
30	30	state contrary to it, as it provides, "This Constitution, 12
31	31	and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in 13
32	32	Pursuance thereof...shall be the supreme Law of the Land; 14
33	33	and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any 15 SB 619 2
34	34	Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the 16
35	35	Contrary notwithstanding."; 17
36	36	(3) To follow the Constitution of the United States, 18
37	37	which requires that "[n]o state...shall deny to any person 19
38	38	within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws"; 20
39	39	(4) To fulfill that constitutional requirement by 21
40	40	protecting the lives of preborn persons with the same 22
41	41	criminal and civil laws protect ing the lives of born persons 23
42	42	by repealing provisions that permit willful prenatal 24
43	43	homicide or assault; 25
44	44	(5) To protect pregnant mothers from being pressured 26
45	45	to abort by repealing provisions that may otherwise allow a 27
46	46	person to solicit, aid, or di rect a mother to abort her 28
47	47	child; 29
48	48	(6) To ensure that all persons potentially subject to 30
49	49	such laws are entitled to due process protections; and 31
50	50	(7) To abolish abortion in this state. 32
51	51	3. Unless specifically provided otherwise, enforcement 33
52	52	is subject to the same presumptions, defenses, 34
53	53	justifications, laws of parties, immunities, and clemencies 35
54	54	as would apply where the victim is a person who had been 36
55	55	born alive. 37
56	56	541.033. 1. Persons accused of committing offenses 1
57	57	against the laws of this state, except as may be otherwise 2
58	58	provided by law, shall be prosecuted: 3
59	59	(1) In the county in which the offense is committed; or 4
60	60	(2) If the offense is committed partly in one county 5
61	61	and partly in another, or if the eleme nts of the crime occur 6
62	62	in more than one county, then in any of the counties where 7
63	63	any element of the offense occurred. 8 SB 619 3
64	64	2. Persons accused of committing the offenses of 9
65	65	identity theft against the laws of this state in sections 10
66	66	570.223, 570.224, an d 575.120 shall be prosecuted: 11
67	67	(1) In the county in which the offense is committed; 12
68	68	(2) If the offense is committed partly in one county 13
69	69	and partly in another, or if the elements of the offense 14
70	70	occur in more than one county, then in any of th e counties 15
71	71	where any element of the offense occurred; 16
72	72	(3) In the county in which the victim resides; or 17
73	73	(4) In the county in which the property obtained or 18
74	74	attempted to be obtained was located. 19
75	75	3. Persons accused of committing an offens e against 20
76	76	the laws of this state under chapter 565 where the victim is 21
77	77	an unborn child shall be prosecuted: 22
78	78	(1) In the county in which the offense is committed; 23
79	79	(2) If the offense is committed partly in one county 24
80	80	and partly in another, or i f the elements of the offense 25
81	81	occur in more than one county, then in any of the counties 26
82	82	where any element of the offense occurred; 27
83	83	(3) In the county in which the accused resides; 28
84	84	(4) In the county in which the victim resides; or 29
85	85	(5) In the county in which the accused is apprehended. 30
86	86	562.071. 1. It is an affirmative defense that the 1
87	87	defendant engaged in the conduct charged to constitute an 2
88	88	offense because he or she was coerced to do so, by the use 3
89	89	of, or threatened imminent use of, unlawful physical force 4
90	90	upon him or her or a third person, which force or threatened 5
91	91	force a person of reasonable firmness in his situation would 6
92	92	have been unable to resist. 7
93	93	2. The defense of "duress" as defined in subsection 1 8
94	94	is not available: 9 SB 619 4
95	95	(1) As to the [crime] offense of murder, except where 10
96	96	the victim is an unborn child and the defendant is the 11
97	97	child's mother; 12
98	98	(2) As to any offense when the defendant recklessly 13
99	99	places himself or herself in a situation in w hich it is 14
100	100	probable that he or she will be subjected to the force or 15
101	101	threatened force described in subsection 1 of this section. 16
102	102	563.026. 1. Unless inconsistent with other provisions 1
103	103	of this chapter defining justifiable use of physi cal force, 2
104	104	or with some other provision of law, conduct which would 3
105	105	otherwise constitute any offense other than a class A felony 4
106	106	or murder is justifiable and not criminal when it is 5
107	107	necessary as an emergency measure to avoid an imminent 6
108	108	public or private injury which is about to occur by reason 7
109	109	of a situation occasioned or developed through no fault of 8
110	110	the actor, and which is of such gravity that, according to 9
111	111	ordinary standards of intelligence and morality, the 10
112	112	desirability of avoiding the injury outweighs the 11
113	113	desirability of avoiding the injury sought to be prevented 12
114	114	by the statute defining the offense charged. 13
115	115	2. The necessity and justifiability of conduct under 14
116	116	subsection 1 of this section may not rest upon 15
117	117	considerations pertaining on ly to the morality and 16
118	118	advisability of the statute, either in its general 17
119	119	application or with respect to its application to a 18
120	120	particular class of cases arising thereunder. Whenever 19
121	121	evidence relating to the defense of justification under this 20
122	122	section is offered, the court shall rule as a matter of law 21
123	123	whether the claimed facts and circumstances would, if 22
124	124	established, constitute a justification. 23 SB 619 5
125	125	3. Conduct which would otherwise constitute any 24
126	126	offense is justifiable and not criminal when it is a lawful 25
127	127	medical procedure: 26
128	128	(1) Performed by a licensed physician; 27
129	129	(2) Performed on a pregnant female to avert the death 28
130	130	of the pregnant female; 29
131	131	(3) That results in the accidental or unintentional 30
132	132	death of the unborn child the pregnant female is carrying; 31
133	133	and 32
134	134	(4) Performed when all reasonable alternatives to save 33
135	135	the life of the unborn child: 34
136	136	(a) Are unavailable; or 35
137	137	(b) Were attempted unsuccessfully before the 36
138	138	performance of the medical procedure. 37
139	139	4. The defense of justification under this section is 38
140	140	an affirmative defense. 39
141	141	565.002. As used in this chapter, unless a different 1
142	142	meaning is otherwise plainly required the following terms 2
143	143	mean: 3
144	144	(1) "Adequate cause", cause that would reason ably 4
145	145	produce a degree of passion in a person of ordinary 5
146	146	temperament sufficient to substantially impair an ordinary 6
147	147	person's capacity for self -control; 7
148	148	(2) "Child", a person under seventeen years of age; 8
149	149	(3) "Conduct", includes any act or om ission; 9
150	150	(4) "Course of conduct", a pattern of conduct composed 10
151	151	of two or more acts, which may include communication by any 11
152	152	means, over a period of time, however short, evidencing a 12
153	153	continuity of purpose. Constitutionally protected activity 13
154	154	is not included within the meaning of course of conduct. 14
155	155	Such constitutionally protected activity includes picketing 15
156	156	or other organized protests; 16 SB 619 6
157	157	(5) "Deliberation", cool reflection for any length of 17
158	158	time no matter how brief; 18
159	159	(6) "Domestic victim", a household or family member as 19
160	160	the term "family" or "household member" is defined in 20
161	161	section 455.010, including any child who is a member of the 21
162	162	household or family; 22
163	163	(7) "Emotional distress", something markedly greater 23
164	164	than the level of unea siness, nervousness, unhappiness, or 24
165	165	the like which are commonly experienced in day -to-day living; 25
166	166	(8) "Full or partial nudity", the showing of all or 26
167	167	any part of the human genitals, pubic area, buttock, or any 27
168	168	part of the nipple of the breast of any female person, with 28
169	169	less than a fully opaque covering; 29
170	170	(9) "Legal custody", the right to the care, custody 30
171	171	and control of a child; 31
172	172	(10) "Parent", either a biological parent or a parent 32
173	173	by adoption; 33
174	174	(11) "Person", includes a human b eing, including an 34
175	175	unborn child at every stage of development from the moment 35
176	176	of fertilization until birth; 36
177	177	(12) "Person having a right of custody", a parent or 37
178	178	legal guardian of the child; 38
179	179	[(12)] (13) "Photographs" or "films", the making of 39
180	180	any photograph, motion picture film, videotape, or any other 40
181	181	recording or transmission of the image of a person; 41
182	182	[(13)] (14) "Place where a person would have a 42
183	183	reasonable expectation of privacy", any place where a 43
184	184	reasonable person would believe that a person could disrobe 44
185	185	in privacy, without being concerned that the person's 45
186	186	undressing was being viewed, photographed or filmed by 46
187	187	another; 47
188	188	[(14)] (15) "Special victim", any of the following: 48 SB 619 7
189	189	(a) A law enforcement officer assaulted in the 49
190	190	performance of his or her official duties or as a direct 50
191	191	result of such official duties; 51
192	192	(b) Emergency personnel, any paid or volunteer 52
193	193	firefighter, emergency room, hospital, or trauma center 53
194	194	personnel, or emergency medical technician, assau lted in the 54
195	195	performance of his or her official duties or as a direct 55
196	196	result of such official duties; 56
197	197	(c) A probation and parole officer assaulted in the 57
198	198	performance of his or her official duties or as a direct 58
199	199	result of such official duties; 59
200	200	(d) An elderly person; 60
201	201	(e) A person with a disability; 61
202	202	(f) A vulnerable person; 62
203	203	(g) Any jailer or corrections officer of the state or 63
204	204	one of its political subdivisions assaulted in the 64
205	205	performance of his or her official duties or as a direct 65
206	206	result of such official duties; 66
207	207	(h) A highway worker in a construction or work zone as 67
208	208	the terms "highway worker", "construction zone", and "work 68
209	209	zone" are defined under section 304.580; 69
210	210	(i) Any utility worker, meaning any employee o f a 70
211	211	utility that provides gas, heat, electricity, water, steam, 71
212	212	telecommunications services, or sewer services, whether 72
213	213	privately, municipally, or cooperatively owned, while in the 73
214	214	performance of his or her job duties, including any person 74
215	215	employed under a contract; 75
216	216	(j) Any cable worker, meaning any employee of a cable 76
217	217	operator, as such term is defined in section 67.2677, 77
218	218	including any person employed under contract, while in the 78
219	219	performance of his or her job duties; and 79 SB 619 8
220	220	(k) Any employee of a mass transit system, including 80
221	221	any employee of public bus or light rail companies, while in 81
222	222	the performance of his or her job duties; 82
223	223	[(15)] (16) "Sudden passion", passion directly caused 83
224	224	by and arising out of provocation by the victim or an other 84
225	225	acting with the victim which passion arises at the time of 85
226	226	the offense and is not solely the result of former 86
227	227	provocation; 87
228	228	[(16)] (17) "Trier", the judge or jurors to whom 88
229	229	issues of fact, guilt or innocence, or the assessment and 89
230	230	declaration of punishment are submitted for decision; 90
231	231	[(17)] (18) "Views", the looking upon of another 91
232	232	person, with the unaided eye or with any device designed or 92
233	233	intended to improve visual acuity, for the purpose of 93
234	234	arousing or gratifying the sexual desir e of any person. 94
235	235	Section B. The provisions of this act apply 1
236	236	prospectively only and not retroactively. It applies only 2
237	237	to offenses committed, or causes of action that arise, on or 3
238	238	after the effective date of this act. 4
239	239	Section C. This act is hereby submitted to the 1
240	240	qualified voters of this state for approval or rejection at 2
241	241	an election which is hereby ordered and which shall be held 3
242	242	and conducted on Tuesday next following the first Monday in 4
243	243	August, 2025, under the applicable laws and constitutional 5
244	244	provisions of this state for the submission of referendum 6
245	245	measures by the general assembly, and this act shall become 7
246	246	effective when approved by a majority of the votes cast 8
247	247	thereon at such election and not other wise. 9
248	248	