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Don't fall down the stairs, ladies: In Utah, miscarriages will soon be illegal
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Don't fall down the stairs, ladies: In Utah, miscarriages will soon be illegal
The Utah legislature — 78 percent of whom are male, coincidentally — has just passed a law that will, in essence, make it a crime for a woman to have a miscarriage. Of course, that's not what the bill's backers say they want to do. Heavens no. Rather, they just want to crack down on women who pay men $150 to beat them up so they will miscarry, which has happened, you know, once. A scourge, truly.
But in their push to ban everything that even remotely resembles abortion but isn't protected under Roe v. Wade, this Christianist crusade may well produce some unintended consequences. Actually, that's not quite right. Does it still count as "unintended" if they know about them in advance, and don't care? See, the bill criminalizes — we're talking homicide charges, here — “a woman's 'intentional, knowing, or reckless act' leading to a pregnancy's illegal termination.”
Reckless. Think about that for a second. Per RH Reality Check:
In addition to criminalizing an intentional attempt to induce a miscarriage or abortion, the bill also creates a standard that could make women legally responsible for miscarriages caused by "reckless" behavior.
Using the legal standard of "reckless behavior" all a district attorney needs to show is that a woman behaved in a manner that is thought to cause miscarriage, even if she didn't intend to lose the pregnancy. Drink too much alcohol and have a miscarriage? Under the new law such actions could be cause for prosecution.
"This creates a law that makes any pregnant woman who has a miscarriage potentially criminally liable for murder," says Missy Bird, executive director of Planned Parenthood Action Fund of Utah. Bird says there are no exemptions in the bill for victims of domestic violence or for those who are substance abusers. The standard is so broad, Bird says, "there nothing in the bill to exempt a woman for not wearing her seatbelt who got into a car accident."
Such a standard could even make falling down stairs a prosecutable event, such as the recent case in Iowa where a pregnant woman who fell down the stairs at her home was arrested under the suspicion she was trying to terminate her pregnancy.
Dan Savage over at Slog offers his thoughts:
Um... Utah? If every miscarriage is a potential homicide, how does Utah avoid launching a criminal investigation every time a woman has a miscarriage? And women have a lot of miscarriages: one in four pregnancies end in a miscarriage. And how is Utah supposed to know when a pregnant woman has had a miscarriage? You're going to have to create some sort of pregnancy registry to keep track of all those fetuses, Utah. Perhaps you could start issuing "conception certificates" to women who get pregnant? And then, if there isn't a baby within nine months of the issuance of a conception certificate, the woman could be hauled in for questioning and she could be indicted for criminal homicide if it's determined that she intentionally or accidentally induced a miscarriage. Of course, lots of women miscarry before they even realize their pregnant... so Utah will have to pass another law, one that compels all sexually active women—actually, let's just say all women, Utah, since some sexually active women claim they're chaste—to come in for mandatory monthly pregnancy tests...
The bill is now in the governor's hands. The governor is, of course, a man. And like the male-heavy Utah legislature — though, in fairness, the bill was sponsored by a woman in the Senate — he knows better than you little women what to do with your bodies. In the meantime, don't fall down stairs, ladies.
Oh, by the way, Utah Dems tried to get that egregious "reckless" word out of the bill, because, you know, in theory, a preggo woman going back to an abusive spouse could qualify. Republican Sen. Margaret Dayton, the bill's sponsor, patted them on the head, and said, without a hint of irony:
"I don't think we want to go down the road of carefully defining the behavior of a woman."
Of course, the Utahans have nothing on my former home state, where wingnut legislators want to not only ban all abortions, but send abortion docs to prison for life. Up yours, Roe v. Wade.
(Quotes from Christrian) "Sex was created for the creation of life." Talk about a chicken and the egg scenario. "Drinking is wrong drugs are wrong and women have not business working when there are children." I think we adequately understand your type now. "God does not hold a gun to you head." Funny, but that's *exactly* how I'd view the threat of eternal torment and damnation. Maybe it's just me.
you know, you really shouldn't drink when your pregnant. it's called fetal alcohol syndrome. and if you're not wearing a seatbelt in a car, well, that's technically already against the law. i completely agree that it's a ridiculous law, but those examples are so weak.
I hope that Utah also plans on footing the bill for 24hr nursing care, nutritionists, physiotherapists, and equivilent wages for those women who become pregnant. Afterall work could be considered reckless so the state needs to foot the bill for every woman who would have to live under constant care and supervision to ensure no "reckless" behaviour occurs. My advice, don't be pregnant in Utah.
Miss Bee- there's nothing weak about those examples. If a woman is drinking this weekend, finds out she's expecting next Tuesday & miscarries the following week she could go to jail. And yes it's a great idea to wear a seatbelt, a law even- one that if you break while not pregnant you might get a $50 fine, but if you're pregnant you'll go to jail. How about drinking coffee? There have been studies linking caffeine to a slight increase in miscarriage risk. How about walking on ice while pregnant? That's pretty dangerous too- is it reasonable a woman should go to jail for slipping & losing a pregnancy???
This is what the rest of the country should do. If you are married you shouldn't be engaging in sex. Sex was created for the creation of life. When you get married this is a fact. This is how God would have it. God is smilling on this bill. We humans have to be responsible for our behavior. Our actions will have serious ramifications on the young. Failure to recognize this is nothing short of murder or attempted murder possibly child abuse if death does not occure. Drinking is wrong drugs are wrong and women have not business working when there are children. Read the Bible people, or you will not have entrance into Heaven. God does not hold a gun to you head. It is your decision how to behave and whether to follow God. The children however all belong to God.
Well, if some folks want better examples, how about this? I went skiing when I was 2 months pregnant with my first child. That's obviously relevant in Utah, which has a lot of great ski areas. If a woman skis while pregnant, takes a spill, and the child is killed, will she be criminally liable? For that matter, there are still people who think that women should be barred from many occupations because of hypothetical risks to their babies. Would this bill signal an official return to that mentality? "No, you can't be a bus driver. A jerk might assault cause you to miscarry." What about pregnant soldiers? They exist. Would failing to seek discharge prior to miscarriage constitute "recklessness"? Will they need to have fetuses and placentas autopsied, and women receive endoscopies of their uteruses, to determine criminal guilt? Will that even be possible, given that most miscarriages occur for no apparent reason?
having had two miscarriages my self in the last year at no fault of my own i believe that this law is complelty rediculus. I lost my babies because my boday could not make the vitemins i needed to keep me and the baby going.Also because I was in the united states Navy and stress was involved. I feel that this is not an resonable law. Currently I am pregnant with what would be my third baby and we are making it now but there is no way to completly say why a female will miscarry.
What is wrong with these people? But I have a really ridiculous situation. When you are pregnant, you are not supposed to consume feta cheese. So, are they going to outlaw Greek salads for pregnant women? That would be properly enforcing their stupid law, would it not?
So, the hand-wringing, hysterical "Keep the government out of my life!" conservatives are the SAME PEOPLE who want the government THIS involved in a pregnancy? Just checking.
Okay, say the pregnant woman becomes so stressed out by the government breathing down her neck about her pregnancy that she actually does have a miscarriage brought on by stress. Can she then turn around and sue the government for stressing her into involuntary fetus-slaughter? I sure would.
why should men legislate over a woman's body? Did that right come from god? Now tell me which god is that? Jesus, Yaveh, Alla, shakti, budha? Women wake up we are 50% of the population we need not take abuse from anyone, we do not live in afganistan we have equal rights remember? Let's think maybe we should propose a law that any man who abuses a woman or child should have their privates removed, let's see how that one flies me dears.
[...] Don’t fall down the stairs, ladies: In Utah, miscarriages … [...]
Also, no women of child bearimg age should ski in Deervalley, Park City, The Canyons, Solitude, Snow Basin, Alta, Snowbird, or Brighton Utah- because the billion dollar making resorts provide skiing and snowboarding, and those are the epitomé of risk.
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