Taylor

A defendant shoots a woman, killing her. As a result, her fetus also dies. In the absence of evidence the defendant knew the woman was pregnant, may the defendant be held liable for the second degree implied malice murder of the fetus? We conclude he may, and therefore reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

I. Facts and Procedural Background

The following facts are taken largely from the Court of Appeal opinion. Defendant Harold Wayne Taylor and the victim, Ms. Patty Pansier, met in the spring of 1997. They dated and then lived together along with Fansler’s three children. In July 1998 Pansier moved out. Defendant was heard threatening to kill Pansier and anyone close to her if she left him. Defendant wanted to “get back” with Pansier, and told one of her friends he could not handle the breakup, and if he could not have her, “nobody else could.”

Defendant and Pansier spent New Year’s Eve 1998 together. On January 1, 1999, a police officer responded to a call regarding a woman screaming in a *866 motel room. In the room he found defendant and Pansier. Pansier was “upset and crying,” and said defendant had raped her. Defendant was arrested, and shortly thereafter…

A man who shoots a woman, unlawfully and intentionally causing her death, is guilty of the woman’s murder, of course. If the woman is some 12 weeks pregnant, and the fetus also dies, is the man also guilty of murdering the fetus even though he did not intend to kill the fetus and did not even know of its existence?

A person may be convicted of murder of another human being on a theory of implied malice, which requires only proof of causing the victim’s death by an intentional act, the natural consequences of which were dangerous to human life, with knowledge of that danger. (People v. Lasko (2000) 23 Cal.4th 101, 107 [ 96 Cal.Rptr.2d 441 , 999 P.2d 666 ].) The majority asserts, *872 however, that for a conviction of implied malice murder of a fetus, it is sufficient that the person acted with conscious disregard “for life in general” (maj. opn., ante, at p. 869). I disagree.

The Legislature has carefully defined murder in terms of two distinct classes of victims—human beings and fetuses. The majority’s reasoning effectively abrogates this important distinction by the manner in which it defines the mental state requirements for implied malice fetal murder. Instead of requiring…

A defendant shoots a woman, killing her. As a result, her fetus also dies. In the absence of evidence the defendant knew the woman was pregnant, may the defendant be held liable for the second degree implied malice murder of the fetus? We conclude he may, and therefore reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

The following facts are taken largely from the Court of Appeal opinion. Defendant Harold Wayne Taylor and the victim, Ms. Patty Fansler, met in the spring of 1997. They dated and then lived together along with Fansler's three children. In July 1998 Fansler moved out. Defendant was heard threatening to kill Fansler and anyone close to her if she left him. Defendant wanted to "get back" with Fansler, and told one of her friends he could not handle the breakup, and if he could not have her, "nobody else could."

Defendant and Fansler spent New Year's Eve 1998 together. On January 1, 1999, a police officer responded to a call regarding a woman screaming in a motel room. In the room he found defendant and Fansler. Fansler was "upset and crying," and said defendant had raped her. Defendant was arrested, and shortly thereafter Fansler obtained a restraining order…