Michigan House Bill HB4671

Michigan 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 6/25/25
• Refer: 6/25/25

Caption

Crimes: abortion; abortion; prohibit. Amends 1931 PA 328 (MCL 750.1 - 750.568) by adding secs. 89a & 322a & repeals sec. 322 of 1931 PA 328 (MCL 750.322).

Summary

HB 4671 would amend Michigan’s penal code to create the “Justice for Babies in the Womb Act,” adding new sections that treat injury to, and death of, an unborn child under assault and homicide laws in the same manner as if the victim had already been born. The bill defines “unborn child” broadly as a living human being before birth from fertilization, and it states that common-law definitions of assault, assault and battery, and homicide apply to unborn children. It also repeals existing section 322 of the penal code and replaces it with new language governing unborn-child homicide. The bill includes exceptions for unintentional injury or death resulting from a life-saving procedure for the mother when reasonable steps are taken to save the unborn child, procedures intended to save the life or preserve the health of the unborn child, and spontaneous miscarriage. It also provides that enforcement follows the same legal principles, presumptions, defenses, immunities, and clemencies that would apply if the victim were born alive. In the homicide section, it specifically recognizes duress as a defense for the mother if the elements of duress are otherwise met.

Impact

If enacted, HB 4671 would expand Michigan criminal law to expressly cover unborn children in assault and homicide provisions, creating new statutory language that could be used to prosecute injuries or deaths of fetuses as crimes against a person. It would also supersede conflicting law to the extent of any inconsistency and repeal MCL 750.322, replacing it with a new framework for unborn-child homicide. The bill could affect criminal defendants, prosecutors, pregnant patients, and medical providers by clarifying when conduct involving pregnancy-related medical care is exempt from liability and when criminal liability may attach.

Sentiment

The available context shows no recorded committee testimony or votes, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment in the provided materials. Based on the bill text and caption, the measure is clearly framed as a pro-life criminal law proposal, and its title and structure suggest support from sponsors seeking to extend legal protections to unborn children. Because no debate transcript or vote history is included, the overall legislative sentiment cannot be measured beyond the bill’s apparent intent.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely the bill’s treatment of unborn children as victims under assault and homicide law from fertilization onward, which would be viewed by supporters as expanding fetal protections and by opponents as a major criminal-law and abortion-related restriction. Another likely area of dispute is the breadth of the definition of “unborn child” and the bill’s interaction with medical decision-making, since it requires reasonable steps to save the unborn child during life-saving procedures for the mother. The inclusion of a duress defense for the mother in homicide cases and the explicit exceptions for miscarriage and medically necessary care appear designed to address some concerns, but the bill still raises questions about prosecutorial reach, medical liability, and conflicts with existing abortion-related law.