A proposed law in Utah that just awaits the signature of that state's governor to become law, would make a miscarriage a crime if it was shown to be caused by "intentional, knowing, or reckless acts." From an article in the online journal Jezebel, there is more (h/t leolabeth):
A new Utah law could charge women with homicide if they miscarry, making women's rights advocates concerned that women will be brought up on murder charges for drinking, failing to wear a seatbelt, or falling down the stairs.
The bill passed Utah's state legislature last Thursday and still needs final approval by the governor, but it continues to gain attention this week for its unusually restrictive language. It doesn't address legal abortion, but allows punishment up to life in prison for an "intentional, knowing, or reckless act" that leads to a miscarriage or abortion without a doctor's supervision. Especially concerning to some Utah Democrats and many women's rights activists is the word "reckless" - writing for RH Reality Check, Rachel Larris says,
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.
Women might also make themselves open to prosecution if they failed to wear a seatbelt and got in a car accident, if they stayed with an abusive partner, or even if they fell down the stairs, like a woman in Iowa who found herself jailed on suspicion of "attempted feticide."
I think about my wife's three pregnancies, and while she never took any risks, one wonders how others might view the hikes up Mt. Battie we did, or swimming in lakes, or even riding bikes to the local market. What about those nights that she drove home after a night class from Orono to Camden, or when there was an inch of snow on the road?
I certainly don't approve of women that drink alcohol or smoke while their pregnant (or while children are in their car, for that matter), despite that nearly everyone my age and older had a mother that did. Nor would I think skydiving while seven months pregnant is a good idea.
But laws like this only further objectify women, forcing them to become vessels of creation. What's next - mandatory bed rest? |
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