legislative antics in Virginia

[cellio]

It's only the first week of January, and already we have a strong contender for most reprehensible legislation of the year. If this passes, then in the state of Virginia a woman who has a miscarriage will be required to notify government authorities within 12 hours or face a year in jail. Yes, you read that right. (Info from celebrin.)

I am rarely speechless, but I'm having trouble putting my outrage into words right now.

Update Sat 9:30pm: According to the person who posted the news initially, there has been some progress based on the huge outcry (thanks to paquerette for the update). There's still more that needs to be done, but the response from the blogosphere seems to have made a difference. Stay tuned.

Comments

[miz-hatbox.livejournal.com]

Oops! My previous reply (since deleted) gave you the same link as the one referenced in celebrin's blog.

But I still say it's an awesome article that highlights just how onerous this bill would be for women have miscarriages (which is a horrible enough thing to have to experience without having to also call the police and fill out intrusive paperwork) about it.

Such a statistic wouldn't prove much. Miscarriages sometimes just happen, often for no reason. "1 pregnancy in 5" is a common statistic, and it usually happens in the first trimester, before many doctors even start obstetrical care. It's even more common as a mother ages, so a city with a high number of miscarriages might just have more women starting families later in life, more families with cats (toxoplasmosis), more pregnant women eating unheated deli meats tainted with listeria...

[dvarin.livejournal.com]

So, the only aspect of this thing I might consider good is the possible public health benefit of these statistics. If they're not of much use, then the rather draconian provisions of the rest of the law would be uncalled for.

But I still say it's an awesome article that highlights just how onerous this bill would be for women have miscarriages (which is a horrible enough thing to have to experience without having to also call the police and fill out intrusive paperwork) about it.

That bit is irreparably stupid. There's no reason not to let the physician handle it, since they're in such a better position to do it in terms of both information and emotional state.

[cellio]

But I still say it's an awesome article that highlights just how onerous this bill would be for women have miscarriages (which is a horrible enough thing to have to experience without having to also call the police and fill out intrusive paperwork) about it.

Yes. As I just commented above, the impact on the woman is severe. If you've had an unanticipated miscarriage, you are probably in no state of mind to be dealing with reporting requirements in that timeframe! Have they no compassion and decency? What public benefit could possibly counterbalance that?

And yeah, my understanding is that miscarriages in the first trimester are pretty darn common. If they must go in this direction (and I don't see why they must), they should at least limit it to second- and third-trimester events. Those are much more likely to be noticed, and are less frequent and thus more interesting.