Vermont’s laws do not recognize a human being before birth as a person. Period. Therefore, as it stands, it is impossible to commit a crime against anyone before he or she is born. Even if a person commits a violent assault on a pregnant woman for the deliberate purpose of killing her unborn child, the perpetrator can be charged only with assault against the woman, no matter what the consequences to her child may have been.
In certain civil court cases, however, the preborn victim has been recognized as a person in Vermont when awarding financial judgements for the injury or death of an unborn child.
Read this summary of Vermont cases to learn why we need to pass a “Crimes Against an Unborn Child” bill:
In the 2025-2026 Legislative Session, S.116 was introduced for the purpose of rectifying this discrepancy in Vermont law. It was not taken up for consideration. Similar legislation will be introduced again in 2027.
CLICK HERE to see this sample legislation.
