Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 28-3,103

Current with changes through the 2024 First Special Legislative Session

Section 28-3,103 - Terms, defined

For purposes of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act:

(1) Abortion means the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or other substance or device to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, or to remove a dead unborn child who died as the result of natural causes in utero, accidental trauma, or a criminal assault on the pregnant woman or her unborn child, and which causes the premature termination of the pregnancy;

(2) Attempt to perform or induce an abortion means an act, or an omission of a statutorily required act, that, under the circumstances as the actor believes them to be, constitutes a substantial step in a course of conduct planned to culminate in the performance or induction of an abortion in this state in violation of the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act;

(3) Fertilization means the fusion of a human spermatozoon with a human ovum;

(4) Medical emergency means a condition which, in reasonable medical judgment, so complicates the medical condition of the pregnant woman as to necessitate the immediate abortion of her pregnancy to avert her death or for which a delay will create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function. No condition shall be deemed a medical emergency if based on a claim or diagnosis that the woman will engage in conduct which would result in her death or in substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function;

(5) Postfertilization age means the age of the unborn child as calculated from the fertilization of the human ovum;

(6) Reasonable medical judgment means a medical judgment that would be made by a reasonably prudent physician, knowledgeable about the case and the treatment possibilities with respect to the medical conditions involved;

(7) Physician means any person licensed to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine under the Uniform Credentialing Act;

(8) Probable postfertilization age of the unborn child means what, in reasonable medical judgment, will with reasonable probability be the postfertilization age of the unborn child at the time the abortion is planned to be performed;

(9) Unborn child or fetus each mean an individual organism of the species homo sapiens from fertilization until live birth; and

(10) Woman means a female human being whether or not she has reached the age of majority.

Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 28-3,103

Laws 2010, LB 1103, § 2.