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Utah makes miscarriages ILLEGAL (must read no matter your stance on abortion)
- Mar 6, 2010 at 1:39 AM
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- Comments (8) Total Views (341) Everyone can see this journal post.
(This is from a blog at http://www.amplifyyourvoic
Utah is not a state known for its legislative sanity. This, after
all, is a state that recently made headlines for proposing
to honor gun manufacturers on Martin Luther King Day and for considering
the elimination of 12th grade to cut back on education spending.
Well, it just got a whole lot worse.
Utah just became the first state in the U.S. to criminalize miscarriage
and punish women for having or seeking an illegal abortion.
Utah's "Criminal Miscarriage" law:
- expands the definition of illegal abortion to include miscarriages
- removes immunity protections for women who have or seek illegal abortions
- treats women as presumptive criminals and leaves them open to criminal prosecution
But even among states that punish illegal abortions, this "Criminal
Miscarriage" law is unique. It not only punishes individuals
who perform illegal procedures; it punishes women.
I spoke with activists in Salt Lake City this morning to ask how to help
out of state. They all made the exact same request: Tell
everyone you know about this law.
National media attention and widespread public outcry are the only way
to stop women and girls in Utah from being subjected to this
unreasonable and dangerous "Criminal Miscarriage" law.
Tell someone about this law right now. Post this on Facebook.
Tweet it. Forward it to five friends. And ask them all to do the same.
How Utah Defined Miscarriage as Criminal Homicide
Utah's "Criminal Miscarriage" law (H.B.12)
makes simple changes to the state's definition of "abortion" and the
section of the Utah Criminal Code governing "criminal homicide."
This law:
- defines legal abortion as a procedure "carried out by a physician or through a substance used under the direction of a physician." Anything else that terminates a pregnancy is now defined as illegal abortion - including miscarriages.
- states that "The killing or attempted killing of a live unborn child in a manner that is not abortion shall be punished as...criminal homicide." (emphasis mine)
- removes existing immunity from criminal prosecution for women "who seek to have or obtain an abortion" or "upon whom a partial birth abortion is performed."
- applies the legal standard of an "intentional, knowing or reckless act of the woman" as punishable as criminal homicide.
Translation: If a woman has a miscarriage but didn't know that she was
pregnant, she cannot be charged with criminal homicide. So while this
law does not criminalize all miscarriages, anything that could
be defined as "knowing" or "reckless" would leave a woman at risk for
criminal prosecution.
Think it couldn't possibly be that bad? The ACLU of Utah is pretty sure
that it could. In their letter
appealing to Utah Governor Gary Herbert to veto the bill (Spoiler: He
won't!), the ACLU said:
Practically speaking however, this bill changes the presumption that abortions obtained in this state are legal. If this bill is signed into law, women in this state will essentially be in the uncomfortable and unfortunate position of having to prove that abortions they obtain (or miscarriages that they suffer) are not unlawful.
In fact, it's the "recklessness" standard that may pose the
greatest threat. Again, from the ACLU:
A woman who fails to wear a seatbelt and is in a car accident could be charged with reckless homicide, should she miscarry. Likewise, a woman who has a substance abuse problem is likely to forego necessary prenatal care out of fear that she could be prosecuted for "knowing" or "reckless" homicide by continuing to use illegal substances while pregnant.
The problems don't stop there. Women in physically abusive
relationships could be criminally liable for not leaving their partner,
regardless of their ability to do so safely or securely. Women seeking
lawful abortion may be guilty of criminal homicide if her physician
failed to follow exact procedures set forth in the law.
For a law designed to discourage illegal abortion, Utah's "Criminal
Miscarriage" law will only drive abortion further underground for those
who cannot safely seek or afford legal medical abortion care.
I grew up in Salt Lake City, so it takes a lot for Utah to surprise me
anymore. This time there aren't even words for my outrage.
Prosecuting women who seek or obtain abortions for criminal homicide
won't make abortion go away - it will only make abortion
dangerous and put women's lives at risk. This law was designed to
punish women who would consider having an abortion. There is simply no
other way to look at it.
Speak Out. Fight Back.
Utah's "Criminal Miscarriage" Law passed the Utah House and Senate by overwhelming majorities. Seriously
overwhelming. The votes were 59-12 and 24-4, respectively, meaning
that even if Gov. Herbert were to veto the bill (he won't) the
legislature could easily override his veto.
Just in case that wasn't enough, the bill's authors included a
provision that with 2/3 members already voting for the bill, the
"Criminal Miscarriage" Law would go into effect even if Gov. Herbert
doesn't sign the bill into law.
The Utah Planned
Parenthood Action Council, the ACLU of Utah, and their allies have been fighting
this fight every step of the way. They succeeded in getting the
legislature to drop the much lower legal standard of "negligence," and
in light of such overwhelming opposition that success is simply heroic.
So what do we do now?
Utah conservatives love to legislate their twisted version of
morality -- but they hate it when the rest of the country calls them
out on their bigotry. So that's exactly what we need to do.
More than anything, Utah wants to be liked. After decades
being seen as a backwards, intolerant state, we desperately want to be
accepted into the political and cultural mainstream. They hate it when
the state itself becomes a national joke.
This is all about PR. The state
legislature backed off their proposal to eliminate 12th grade when it
was ridiculed
in the national press. Dropping a year from high school led to
"perception problems" but national media has been silent when the state
enacts one of the most dangerous abortion laws in U.S. history. That
silence ends right now.
It's time for everyone to hear about Utah's "Criminal
Miscarriage" law. The media must to cover it. We must to start
conversations all across the country about what this means for women
and girls in Utah - and what this precedent means if (or, more likely,
when) other states follow suit. (A similar case in Iowa should be all the warning we
need.)
So post this on Facebook. Tweet it. Forward it to five
friends. And ask them all to do the same.
If we turn a blind eye towards Utah's "Criminal Miscarriage" law, their
shame will belong to all of us.
Comments:
Wow, I am not a proponent for abortion (I do not really think anyone is) but this is ludicrous!
I know my DD was a twin and I miscarried her twin before I knew I was carrying twins... what does that make me? Fuck this shit. I can't believe people think this shit is LOGICAL
Hmmm... from what I read in the article, all of the situations the PPs posted, where you don't know you are pregnant or miscarry accidentally, aren't covered under this bill. This is for women who try to purposely make themselves miscarry or try to get an illegal abortion. Sorry but I agree with the law. You said you feel like they are making women "lesser beings" than the fetus but I would disagree. It seems like they are just trying to put the fetus more on equal footing with the woman (which, as I see it, they ARE - unique and individual and precious human beings and no less of a person than the mother they reside in), not put the fetus above the woman. And why shouldn't the woman be prosecuted. If you hired an illegal hitman to kill your 1 day old newborn, shouldn't you be prosecuted? If you tried to kill the baby yourself shouldn't you be prosecuted? Why should gestation time and birth status be the factor that makes THAT a criminal offense, and getting an illegal abortion or trying purposely to make yourself miscarry not criminal? Frankly I don't care if it drives these people underground. Prosecuting child abusers drives them underground - you don't see them announcing their abuse from the rooftops - but does that mean we shouldn't prosecute? Of course not. Making anything illegal makes criminals want to hide their behavior, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be illegal.
craziness
Elizabeth, the law makes women who miscarry 'guilty until proven innocent' which means that if you accidentally miscarry you have to PROVE it wasn't something you did on purpose. That is ass backwards from the BILL OF RIGHTS that says all americans are INNOCENT until proven GUILTY.
And what about the entire secton stating that a woman in an abusive situation will be prosecuted for not leaving? THAT is bullshit.
Holy....crap. Have they gone freaking INSANE? What are they thinking?!?!
I couldnt even finish reading that.. made me sick
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well that's a whole load of horse shit now isn't it. How can anyone think this is a good idea. So when I lost my first child because I didn't know I was pregnant I should be treated as a criminal. What about my second where I did everything I could to protect my baby and still miscarried? I am a double criminal because there was something that some MAN somewhere thought I could have done more?
And where does one draw the line. Ok you said about illegal substances, but what if I had 3 glasses of wine? I am I liable? What if I didn't take my vitamins? Is someone going to call my a murderer for that? Or coloured my hair or ate sushi or one of the 1000's of other things that you 'shouldn't' do during pregnancy but a lot of people do anyways. And then the question becomes who is supposed watch over all these murderers-to-be? If you see a woman smoking while pregnant are you to call 911?
I feel your out rage. Come live up here in Canada where people are sane.
- Amelora
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