"Within 24 hours of a being notified of a fetal death," said NBC12 legal analyst Steve Benjamin. "The state medical examiner is required to cause an investigation to occur into the cause of the fetal death. If another person deliberately, unlawfully, and maliciously kills the fetus of another, even though it is unborn, then that person can be prosecuted with a felony that can carry up to life in prison. A mother, however, cannot be charged with a homicide or killing a fetus unless the fetus achieves a life separate and apart from the mother…unless it is born alive."