CONCORD – The House has effectively killed a bill that would've broadened the state's homicide statutes to apply to the unborn.

The House on Wednesday voted 217-201 in favor of House Bill 217, short of the two-thirds majority needed to override Gov. John Lynch's veto.

Supporters said the bill was necessary to allow the state to prosecute people who cause the death of an unborn child. The bill wouldn't apply to abortion providers.

Opponents of the bill said it ignored the accepted scientific standard of viability of around 24 weeks in establishing when the homicide statues could be applied to the death of a fetus. The bill uses a standard of eight weeks.