Utah Feticide Bill--Update

Mar 08, 2010 11:55

First, a piece of news. The governor of Utah sent the feticide bill back to the legislature. On Thursday, Carl Wimmer, the chief sponsor of the bill, withdrew it.

However, we're not out of the woods yet. The bill--H.B. 462, now (offered here with amendments)--was revised very quickly. Yes, the "reckless" clause was taken out of the new version of ( Read more... )

women's rights, politics

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mysid March 8 2010, 18:54:17 UTC
Wouldn't abortion be considered a "knowing act" that results in stillbirth or miscarriage? And if so, isn't this bill making abortion illegal in Utah?

Scary stuff, boys and girls.

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gehayi March 8 2010, 19:10:59 UTC
No, it's not. According to the bill:

There shall be no cause of action for criminal homicide for the death of an unborn child caused by an abortion, as defined in Section 76-7-301.

Section 76-7301 reads:

1) (a) "Abortion" means:
(i) the intentional termination or attempted termination of human pregnancy after implantation of a fertilized ovum [, and includes any and all procedures undertaken to kill a live unborn child and includes all procedures undertaken to produce a miscarriage.] through a medical procedure carried out by a physician or through a substance used under the direction of a physician; (N.B. this covers both first trimester abortions and the use of the morning-after pill so often used in rape cases)
(ii) the intentional killing or attempted killing of a live unborn child through a medical procedure carried out by a physician or through a substance used under the direction of a physician; (N.B. which covers second and third trimester abortions) or ( ... )

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scrollgirl March 8 2010, 22:04:21 UTC
I suppose one question might be, say a drug addict takes illegal drugs and her foetus dies. How much of that is "intentional" or "knowing"? An addict might "know" drugs are bad for her and her foetus, but not be able to judge how much is too much and what will kill the foetus. Taking illegal drugs is reckless, but claiming it's "intentional" or "knowing" with regard to killing an unborn foetus is an overbroad statement, IMHO.

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scrollgirl March 8 2010, 22:09:10 UTC
Basically, I question the drawing of a line between legal and illegal substances when it comes to determining intent/knowledge of this "killing of unborn foetus" charge. I have no idea whether authorities will abuse this law to charge women have miscarriages who might have done a little pot.

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gehayi March 8 2010, 22:15:48 UTC
I agree. I think it's seriously problematic. I see a huge amount of potential for abuse of the law, should the governor sign it (or not sign it for long enough that it passes by default ( ... )

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mysid March 9 2010, 02:37:28 UTC
Ditto. HUGELY worrying.

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lilacsigil March 9 2010, 03:29:07 UTC
This is still very worrying - what if someone takes ibuprofen, or wears her seatbelt over her abdomen rather than under it? What if she, like that woman in Florida, refuses bed rest because she has to work or care for older children? Your medication example is another good one - there are so many that cause harm, and in a planned pregnancy, a woman and her doctor can examine the risks and benefits. Not the case in an unplanned pregnancy.

And heavy use of alcohol in early pregnancy can indeed induce a miscarriage, despite what Wimmer says.

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gehayi March 9 2010, 03:44:32 UTC
OH, yes. There are all kinds of problems. And the Utah legislators don't see the potential headaches because a) most of them are men and this bill is aimed at women, so it will not affect them personally and b) the few legislators who are women one and all describe themselves as "good Christian wives and mothers." Which I think is shorthand for "This bill will NEVER affect me. I'm a GOOD woman! Good women don't get into trouble with the law ( ... )

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lilacsigil March 9 2010, 03:47:51 UTC
I think that's the best (and fortunately highly likely) outcome. I just hope it doesn't trap too many "bad women" on the way.

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