Crimes Against Unborn Children and Assisting Suicide in Minnesota

Crimes Against Unborn Children (Minn. Stat. §§ 609.266–609.2691)

Minnesota law includes a set of offenses punishing the killing or injuring of an "unborn child," defined as "the unborn offspring of a human being conceived, but not yet born." These offenses are structured to parallel the regular homicide and assault crimes — there are unborn-child versions of murder (by degree), manslaughter, and assault.

Important Limits

• The pregnant woman is exempt. These statutes specifically do not apply to the pregnant woman herself, which keeps abortion outside their scope — abortion is addressed by separate law.
• The state need not prove the unborn child was a "person." Courts have upheld these statutes against constitutional challenges, including vagueness and equal-protection arguments.
• Knowledge of pregnancy isn't always required. The statutes have been upheld even though they don't require the defendant to have known the woman was pregnant.

Separate Punishment

A prosecution or conviction for a crime against an unborn child does not bar conviction or punishment for other crimes committed as part of the same conduct — though the constitutional protections against double jeopardy still apply. (See our page on double jeopardy.)

Assisting Suicide (Minn. Stat. § 609.215)

Minnesota makes it a crime to intentionally assist another person in taking their own life. This is a serious offense, but its scope has been significantly shaped — and narrowed — by the courts.

What the Courts Changed

The original statute prohibited intentionally "advising, encouraging, or assisting" a suicide. In State v. Melchert-Dinkel (2014), the Minnesota Supreme Court held that the "advises" and "encourages" portions are unconstitutional under the First Amendment — because they swept in protected speech. The "assists" prohibition survives, and the courts have applied it (including in the Final Exit Network case) to conduct that helps bring about a suicide.

What this means for you: The line between unprotected "assisting" and protected speech is the central legal issue in these cases. Merely speaking about suicide — even in ways many would find troubling — is treated differently from physically helping accomplish it. This distinction is constitutionally significant and fact-intensive.

This Is Not About Abstract Speech Alone

Because the "advises/encourages" language was struck down, a prosecution under the surviving statute focuses on actual assistance — conduct that enables the act — rather than expression or advocacy. The precise facts of what a person did, versus said, matter enormously.

Possible Defenses

• First Amendment — conduct that was protected speech rather than unlawful assistance.
• Lack of the required intent or actual assistance.
• Causation — for unborn-child offenses, whether the defendant's act caused the harm.
• Challenges to the evidence and the manner of the charge.

Key Terms

• Unborn child: "The unborn offspring of a human being conceived, but not yet born."
• Pregnant-woman exemption: The rule keeping these offenses from applying to the woman herself, excluding abortion.
• Assisting suicide: Intentionally helping another take their own life — the surviving prohibition in § 609.215.
• Advises/encourages: Language struck down as unconstitutional speech restrictions.