Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 507A.020 (2026)

Fetal homicide in the first degree

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section KY-LRCapps.legislature.ky.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(1) A person is guilty of fetal homicide in the first degree when: (a) With intent to cause the death of an unborn child or with the intent necessary to commit an offense under KRS 507.020(1)(a), he causes the death of an unborn child; except that in any prosecution, a person shall not be guilty under this subsection if he acted under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance for which there was a reasonable explanation or excuse, the reasonableness of which is to be determined from the viewpoint of a person in the defendant's situation under the circumstances as the defendant believed them to be. However, nothing contained in this section shall constitute a defense to a prosecution for or preclude a conviction of fetal homicide in the second degree or any other crime; or (b) Including but not limited to the operation of a motor vehicle under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life, he wantonly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to an unborn child and thereby causes the death of an unborn child. (2) Fetal homicide in the first degree is a capital offense. Effective: February 20, 2004 History: Created 2004 Ky. Acts ch. 1, sec. 2, effective February 20, 2004.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 2 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2020–2025 · leading case: Sam Cornett v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. 2020).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Sam Cornett v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. 2020). · cites it 4× “However, the argument raised by Cornett requires us to first examine the intent requirement of the fetal homicide statute, KRS 507A.020. Because this is a question of statutory interpretation, our review is de novo.”

Lisa Sobel v. Russell Coleman, in His Off. Capacity as Attorney Gen. of the Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2025). “KRS 507A.020 defines fetal homicide as the intentional death of an unborn child and is a capital offense.”

— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 507A.020(l)(b) — 1 case

Sam Cornett v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. 2020). “However, the argument raised by Cornett requires us to first examine the intent requirement of the fetal homicide statute, KRS 507A.020. Because this is a question of statutory interpretation, our review is de novo.”

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.