{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-311.7701","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 311.7701","heading":"Definitions for KRS  311.7701 to 311.7711.","body":"As used in KRS 311.7701 to 311.7711:\n(1) \"Conception\" means fertilization;\n(2) \"Contraceptive\" means a drug, device, or chemical that prevents conception;\n(3) \"Fertilization\" has the same meaning as in KRS 311.781;\n(4) \"Fetal heartbeat\" means  cardiac activity or the steady and repetitive rhythmic\ncontraction of the fetal heart within the gestational sac;\n(5) \"Fetus\" means  the human  offspring developing during pregnancy from the\nmoment  of conception and includes the embryonic stage of development;\n(6) \"Frivolous conduct\" has the same meaning as in KRS 311.784;\n(7) \"Gestational age\" means the age of an unborn human  individual as calculated\nfrom the first day of the last menstrual period of a pregnant woman;\n(8) \"Gestational sac\" means  the structure that comprises the extraembryonic\nmembranes  that envelop the fetus and that is typically visible by ultrasound\nafter the fourth week of pregnancy;\n(9) \"Intrauterine pregnancy\" means a pregnancy in which the fetus is attached to\nthe placenta within the uterus of the pregnant woman;\n(10) \"Medical emergency\" has the same meaning as in KRS 311.781;\n(11) \"Physician\" has the same meaning as in KRS 311.720;\n(12) \"Pregnancy\" means the human  female reproductive condition that begins with\nfertilization, when the woman  is carrying the developing human  offspring, and\nthat is calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period of the woman;\n(13) \"Serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily\nfunction\" has the same meaning as in KRS 311.781;\n(14) \"Spontaneous miscarriage\" means  the natural or accidental termination of a\npregnancy and the expulsion of the fetus, typically caused by genetic defects in\nthe fetus or physical abnormalities in the pregnant woman;\n(15) \"Standard medical practice\" means the degree of skill, care, and diligence that\na physician of the same medical specialty would employ in like circumstances.\nAs applied to the method used to determine the presence of a fetal heartbeat\nfor purposes of KRS  311.7704, \"standard medical practice\" includes employing\nthe appropriate means  of detection depending on the estimated gestational\nage of the fetus and the condition of the woman  and her pregnancy; and\n(16) \"Unborn child\" and \"unborn human  individual\" have the same  meaning as\n\"unborn child\" has in KRS 311.781.","path":["KRS Chapter 311"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=48498","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:58:06Z","sha256":"bcac2fd4f573ade0c2a2485e904f25604a43bf80315bcea5214b3a9d55e66eb1","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-311.770","next":"us-ky/krs-311.7702"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}