Utah law makes miscarriage a crime, punishable by up to life in prison

by: Gerald Weinand

Fri Feb 26, 2010 at 07:33:39 AM EST

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?

Pingree vows to vote "No" on health reform bill that includes Stupak-Pitts amendment

by: Gerald Weinand

Tue Nov 10, 2009 at 13:51:50 PM EST

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
H-232 Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Madam Speaker:

As members of Congress we believe that women should have access to a full range of reproductive health care. Health care reform must not be misused as an opportunity to restrict women's access to reproductive health services.

The Stupak-Pitts amendment to H.R. 3962, The Affordable Healthcare for America Act, represents an unprecedented and unacceptable restriction on women's ability to access the full range of reproductive health services to which they are lawfully entitled. We will not vote for a conference report that contains language that restricts women's right to choose any further than current law.

This afternoon, Willy Ritch, Communications Director for Rep. Chellie Pingree, told me that Rep. Pingree intends to sign onto this letter upon her return to Washington.

While not unexpected, it is great to see Rep. Pingree out in front of this issue. That some would restrict a woman's access to a legal procedure simply because they may be of lesser means is unconscionable, and again Rep. Pingree demonstrates her unflagging support of the rights of all women to control their own bodies.

Thank you Chellie Pingree.