Utah Governor Signs Law Charging Women With Murder for Miscarriages

Just when you wonder how far the right wing will go in pushing women back to second class citizenry where they feel they belong, something amazing happens...they top even their own dreams. On Monday, a controversial Utah bill that charges pregnant women and girls with murder for having miscarriages caused by "intentional or knowing" acts, was signed into law by Gov. Gary Herbert. I'm clearly not the only one fearing that the law will open up a Pandora's box of legal consequences. Melissa Bird, executive director of the Planned Parenthood Action Council in Utah, said, “I’m thrilled the media have picked this up, but we need to start from the beginning. What happens to women who are in abusive relationships? What happens if a woman threatens to leave the abuser, falls down the stairs and loses the baby? What if the abuser beats the woman and causes a miscarriage? Could he turn her in? Who would the prosecutor believe? What happens if a drug addict who’s trying to get clean loses her baby? Will she be brought up on murder charges?” Rep. Wimmer claims such women would not be prosecuted because they didn’t knowingly act to terminate their pregnancies. But Bird says that is not necessarily the point. “Even if the prosecutor doesn’t take the case, nothing precludes a woman from being brought to the attention of law enforcement in the first place. What we’re doing is driving women underground and preventing them from getting health care and prenatal care. This is extreme. Mark my words. If they can get away with this, they will try to make abortion illegal in the state of Utah. People need to wake up.”

Ironically, three days after Utah’s House and Senate passed Rep. Wimmer’s Criminal Homicide and Abortion Amendments bill, the Senate refused to even debate legislation that would have allowed teachers to provide comprehensive sex education to students who had their parent’s permission. Current state law says teachers can’t advocate or endorse the use of contraceptive methods or devices, according to Bird. “If you teach about chlamydia, you’re allowed to say, ‘This is a condom and this is chlamydia.’ The law would have allowed teachers to say, ‘If you’re having sex, you can use a condom to prevent chlamydia. Abstinence is the best way, but if you’re not abstinent, use a condom.’”

A statewide poll conducted in September by Planned Parenthood found that 67 percent of Utahns believe comprehensive sex-ed would "likely reduce the number of unintended teen pregnancies."

I’m not a legal expert, but this law seems to be a direct violation of Roe V. Wade. Unfortunately, with the current Supreme Court makeup, Roe V. Wade could get overturned. Then you can expect to see some real gender based enslavement. Even the most fascist Islamics claim their women are ”free” while forcing them to wear a burka in 100 degree weather and restrict their movements by requiring a male ”escort”. Conservative America has so much in common with those they call the ’enemy of the West' yet they refuse to see it. I'd also like to add that these far right extremists forcing their ideals on the rest of us without taking responsibility for their part in the problem really piss me off. This being the fact that through abstinence only education, they’re not informing young women of their options. How can we hold a young person responsible for their actions when we have not armed them with the information they need to make responsible decisions? Abstinence only is a proven failure! Yes, tell the kids that abstinence is the preferred way if you must, but give them the tools to make better decisions once they become sexually active.

Vigilance is required of us all to stop these Christian End-Timers who believe all women are property, should walk behind men and be silent unless spoken to. They chip away at human rights and all our freedoms to achieve their own vision of the world – not much different than those radical Islamic fundamentalists they so love to denigrate.