Keeler v. Superior Court
Supreme Court of California
470 P.2d 617 (1970)
After divorcing his wife Teresa, Robert Keeler (defendant) confronted her while she was pregnant by another man, and upon seeing her pregnant stomach, struck her in the abdomen with his knee, intending to hit the fetus. Mrs. Keeler delivered a stillborn fetus by emergency Caesarean section, with a skull fracture consistent with Keeler's attack cited as the cause of death; the fetus was viable, weighing five pounds and eighteen inches long, with expert testimony estimating a 75-96% survival chance if born prematurely that day. California's murder statute, Penal Code § 187, criminalizes the killing of a "human being." Keeler was charged with murder and moved to set aside the charge; after the lower court denied his motion, he petitioned the California Supreme Court for a writ of prohibition.
Whether an unborn but viable fetus is a "human being" under the law as to which someone may be charged with murder.