SACRAMENTO—A proposed bill to bar criminal prosecution into the suspicious death of an unborn or newborn baby was passed by a state assembly committee on April 5. Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 2223 to prevent pregnant women from being prosecuted for either terminating a pregnancy or losing their baby, she said during an April 5 Judiciary assembly committee meeting. “AB 2223 is intended to protect against the criminalization of pregnancy outcomes, and people should not be subject to prosecution for any tragic situation that may happen during the pregnancy,” Wicks said. The bill would prohibit holding a person—the mother or a health care provider—responsible for the death of an unborn baby based on “their actions or omissions” related to the pregnancy, according to the state legislative information website. Existing law requires a county coroner to investigate the death of an unborn or born baby—between 20 weeks into pregnancy …