Translation:Shulchan Aruch/Choshen Mishpat/423

Paragraph 1- If one strikes a woman and her offspring emerge, even though it was unintentional, the tortfeasor must pay the value of the offspring to her husband and the damage and pain to the woman. How do we appraise the value of the offspring? We appraise how much the woman was worth before she gave birth, how much she was worth after she gave birth, and he gives the difference to the husband. To calculate the pain and damage, we appraise how much a woman depreciates and how much weaker she gets when she miscarries via a blow versus when she gives birth in the ordinary course. The same applies to lost work and medical expenses, if applicable. If the husband dies, he would give it to the husband’s inheritors. If she was struck after the husband died, he would even give the value of the offspring to the woman. There are those who say it would still go to the husband’s inheritors.

Paragraph 2- If she was married to a convert, and the tortfeasor struck her while the convert was alive, he would pay the value of the offspring to the husband. If the convert died, he would be exempt. If he struck her after the convert died, she would acquire the value of the offspring. There are those who say he would be exempt.

Paragraph 3- If she was a maidservant or a gentile at the time of conception, and when she was struck she had been freed or had converted, she would receive the value of the her offspring. There are those who say that if her husband was alive, he would receive the payment, and if he was not alive, the tortfeasor would be exempt.

Paragraph 4- If one strikes a woman, and her offspring emerge and she dies, even if the tortfeasor killed her accidentally, he would be exempt from payment and would not have to pay anything, because the verse states, “and there was no calamity, punished, he shall be punished.” The verse does not distinguish between an unintetional or intentional incidents with respect to exempting payment on an action that carries a death penalty by the court. When is this true? Where the tortfeasor intended to strike the woman. If he intended to hit another but hit the woman, however, although she has died, because she was killed unintentionally, it is a matter that does not carry the death penalty by court, and the tortfeasor would pay for the value of the offspring.