"Born alive" laws in the United States are fetal rights laws which extend various criminal laws, such as homicide and assault, to cover unlawful death or other harm done to a fetus in utero (unborn child) or to an infant that is no longer being carried in pregnancy and exists outside of its mother. The basis for such laws stems from advances in medical science and social perception which allow a fetus to be seen and medically treated as an individual in the womb and perceived socially as a person, for some or all of the pregnancy.