Florida SB 164: Civil Liability for the Wrongful Death of an Unborn Child

Bill Text

164 
Civil Liability for the Wrongful Death of an Unborn Child 
2025-10-10T09:10:19Z 
Revising the definition of the term “survivors” to include the parents of an unborn child; defining the term “unborn child”; prohibiting a right of action against the mother for the wrongful death of an unborn child or against a medical provider for lawful medical care provided in certain circumstances, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 164 

 By Senator Grall 

 29-00131-26 2026164__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to civil liability for the wrongful 
 3 death of an unborn child; reordering and amending s. 
 4 768.18, F.S.; revising the definition of the term 
 5 “survivors” to include the parents of an unborn child; 
 6 defining the term “unborn child”; amending s. 768.19, 
 7 F.S.; prohibiting a right of action against the mother 
 8 for the wrongful death of an unborn child or against a 
 9 medical provider for lawful medical care provided in 
 10 certain circumstances; amending s. 768.21, F.S.; 
 11 authorizing parents of an unborn child to recover 
 12 certain damages; prohibiting the recovery of certain 
 13 damages if the decedent is an unborn child; conforming 
 14 a cross-reference; providing an effective date. 
 15 
 16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 17 
 18 Section 1. Section 768.18, Florida Statutes, is reordered 
 19 and amended to read: 
 20 768.18 Definitions.—As used in ss. 768.16-768.26: 
 21 (5)(1) “Survivors” means the decedent’s spouse, children, 
 22 parents, and, when partly or wholly dependent on the decedent 
 23 for support or services, any blood relatives and adoptive 
 24 brothers and sisters. It includes the child born out of wedlock 
 25 of a mother, but not the child born out of wedlock of the father 
 26 unless the father has recognized a responsibility for the 
 27 child’s support. It also includes the parents of an unborn 
 28 child. 
 29 (1)(2) “Minor children” means children under 25 years of 
 30 age, notwithstanding the age of majority. 
 31 (4)(3) “Support” includes contributions in kind as well as 
 32 money. 
 33 (3)(4) “Services” means tasks, usually of a household 
 34 nature, regularly performed by the decedent that will be a 
 35 necessary expense to the survivors of the decedent. These 
 36 services may vary according to the identity of the decedent and 
 37 survivor and shall be determined under the particular facts of 
 38 each case. 
 39 (2)(5) “Net accumulations” means the part of the decedent’s 
 40 expected net business or salary income, including pension 
 41 benefits, that the decedent probably would have retained as 
 42 savings and left as part of her or his estate if the decedent 
 43 had lived her or his normal life expectancy. “Net business or 
 44 salary income” is the part of the decedent’s probable gross 
 45 income after taxes, excluding income from investments continuing 
 46 beyond death, that remains after deducting the decedent’s 
 47 personal expenses and support of survivors, excluding 
 48 contributions in kind. 
 49 (6) “Unborn child” means a member of the species Homo 
 50 sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the 
 51 womb. 
 52 Section 2. Section 768.19, Florida Statutes, is amended to 
 53 read: 
 54 768.19 Right of action.— 
 55 (1) When the death of a person is caused by the wrongful 
 56 act, negligence, default, or breach of contract or warranty of 
 57 any person, including those occurring on navigable waters, and 
 58 the event would have entitled the person injured to maintain an 
 59 action and recover damages if death had not ensued, the person 
 60 or watercraft that would have been liable in damages if death 
 61 had not ensued shall be liable for damages as specified in this 
 62 act notwithstanding the death of the person injured, although 
 63 death was caused under circumstances constituting a felony. 
 64 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, a 
 65 wrongful death action for the death of an unborn child may not 
 66 be brought against the mother of the unborn child or against a 
 67 medical provider for lawful medical care provided in compliance 
 68 with the applicable standard of care, including, but not limited 
 69 to, care related to assisted reproductive technologies as 
 70 defined in s. 742.13, provided with the consent of the mother. 
 71 Section 3. Subsection (4) and paragraph (a) of subsection 
 72 (6) of section 768.21, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 
 73 768.21 Damages.—All potential beneficiaries of a recovery 
 74 for wrongful death, including the decedent’s estate, shall be 
 75 identified in the complaint, and their relationships to the 
 76 decedent shall be alleged. Damages may be awarded as follows: 
 77 (4) Each parent of a deceased minor child or an unborn 
 78 child may also recover for mental pain and suffering from the 
 79 date of injury. Each parent