Criminal Miscarriage
This seems sensible. Oh, wait, no, it’s batshit fucking insane:
In addition to criminalizing an intentional attempt to induce a miscarriage or abortion, the bill also creates a standard that could make women legally responsible for miscarriages caused by “reckless” behavior.
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.
“This creates a law that makes any pregnant woman who has a miscarriage potentially criminally liable for murder.”
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2 Comments
Oh, Utah! That’s frightening, incredibly shortsighted, and I’m guessing will be mostly policed and prosecuted by men.
I’m not entirely sure why they feel it’s necessary to even bring this law in, unless it’s a way to make sure no one does back-street abortions. If that’s the case, then my head asplodes.
Christina, Sunday 28th Feb 2010, 6PM #
It’s because a woman’s only function is having babies, and how dare a woman act as if her body is her own and not make a baby.
Matt, Sunday 28th Feb 2010, 6PM #