North Dakota Code 14-02.2-01 – Live fetal experimentation – Penalty
1. A person may not use any live human fetus, whether before or after expulsion from its mother’s womb, for scientific, laboratory, research, or other kind of experimentation. This section does not prohibit procedures incident to the study of a human fetus while it is in its mother’s womb, provided that in the best medical judgment of the physician, made at the time of the study, the procedures do not substantially jeopardize the life or health of the fetus, and provided the fetus is not the subject of a planned abortion. In any criminal proceeding the fetus is conclusively presumed not to be the subject of a planned abortion if the mother signed a written statement at the time of the study, that the mother was not planning an abortion.
Attorney's Note
Under the North Dakota Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class A felony | up to 20 years | up to $20,000 |
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 14-02.2-01
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- written: include "typewriting" and "typewritten" and "printing" and "printed" except in the case of signatures and when the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See North Dakota Code 1-01-37
2. A person may not use a fetus or newborn child, or any tissue or organ thereof, resulting from an induced abortion in animal or human research, experimentation, or study, or for animal or human transplantation.
3. This section does not prohibit or regulate diagnostic or remedial procedures, the purpose of which is to determine the life or health of the fetus involved or to preserve the life or health of the fetus involved, or of the mother involved.
4. A fetus is a live fetus for the purposes of this section when, in the best medical judgment of a physician, it shows evidence of life as determined by the same medical standards as are used in determining evidence of life in a spontaneously aborted fetus at approximately the same stage of gestational development.
5. Any person violating this section is guilty of a class A felony.