ILCS » Chapter 720 · Act 5
Illinois Compiled Statutes

720 ILCS 5/12-3.1 (2026)

Battery of an unborn child; aggravated battery of an unborn child

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section IL-ILGAilga.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
(720 ILCS 5/12-3.1) (from Ch. 38, par. 12-3.1)
    Sec. 12-3.1. Battery of an unborn child; aggravated battery of an unborn child.
    (a) A person commits battery of an unborn child if he or she knowingly without legal justification and by any means causes bodily harm to an unborn child.
    (a-5) A person commits aggravated battery of an unborn child when, in committing a battery of an unborn child, he or she knowingly causes great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement to an unborn child.
    (b) For purposes of this Section, (1) "unborn child" shall mean any individual of the human species from the implantation of an embryo until birth, and (2) "person" shall not include the pregnant individual whose unborn child is harmed.
    (c) Sentence. Battery of an unborn child is a Class A misdemeanor. Aggravated battery of an unborn child is a Class 2 felony.
    (d) This Section shall not apply to acts which cause bodily harm to an unborn child if those acts were committed during any abortion, as defined in Section 1-10 of the Reproductive Health Act, to which the pregnant individual has consented. This Section shall not apply to acts which were committed pursuant to usual and customary standards of medical practice during diagnostic testing or therapeutic treatment.
(Source: P.A. 101-13, eff. 6-12-19.)

    
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2016–2024 · leading case: People v. Dorsey, 2016 IL App (4th) 140734 (Ill. App. Ct. 2016).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
People v. Dorsey, 2016 IL App (4th) 140734 (Ill. App. Ct. 2016). “30(a)(2) (West 2012)), and battery of an unborn child (720 ILCS 5/12-3.1(a)(a-5) (West 2012)) all require “bodily harm” before criminal liability attaches.”
People v. Hill, 2024 IL App (2d) 240436-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2024). · cites it 2× “arrived at the Elgin Police Department lobby to report further acts of domestic violence perpetrated by 1 Defendant was charged with violation of a protective order (720 ILCS 5/12-3.1(a)(2) & (1) (West 2024)) in case nos.”
People v. Dorsey, 2016 IL App (4th) 140734 (Ill. App. Ct. 2017). “30(a)(2) (West 2012)), and battery of an unborn child (720 ILCS 5/12-3.1(a), (a-5) (West 2012)) all require “bodily harm” before criminal liability attaches.”
People v. Williams, 2022 IL App (2d) 210602-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2022). “Williams, was found guilty of two counts of domestic battery (720 ILCS 5/12-3.1(a)(1), (a)(2) (West 2020)).”
720 ILCS 5/12-3.1(a): 2 cases
People v. Dorsey, 2016 IL App (4th) 140734 (Ill. App. Ct. 2016). “30(a)(2) (West 2012)), and battery of an unborn child (720 ILCS 5/12-3.1(a)(a-5) (West 2012)) all require “bodily harm” before criminal liability attaches.”
People v. Dorsey, 2016 IL App (4th) 140734 (Ill. App. Ct. 2017). “30(a)(2) (West 2012)), and battery of an unborn child (720 ILCS 5/12-3.1(a), (a-5) (West 2012)) all require “bodily harm” before criminal liability attaches.”
720 ILCS 5/12-3.1(a)(1): 1 case
People v. Williams, 2022 IL App (2d) 210602-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2022). “Williams, was found guilty of two counts of domestic battery (720 ILCS 5/12-3.1(a)(1), (a)(2) (West 2020)).”
720 ILCS 5/12-3.1(a)(2): 1 case
People v. Hill, 2024 IL App (2d) 240436-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2024). “arrived at the Elgin Police Department lobby to report further acts of domestic violence perpetrated by 1 Defendant was charged with violation of a protective order (720 ILCS 5/12-3.1(a)(2) & (1) (West 2024)) in case nos.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.