Utah House Committee Approves Bill Allowing Prosecution Of Women Who Seek Illegal Abortions

[Ian David]

Utah House Committee Approves Bill Allowing Prosecution Of Women Who Seek Illegal Abortions

The Utah House Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday approved a bill (HB 12) that would permit criminal charges against a woman who attempts to have an illegal abortion, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The legislation would define which abortions are legal and protected from prosecution. According to the Tribune, terminating a pregnancy in a manner not allowed under the legislation could lead to a charge of criminal homicide, which is a second-degree felony.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Carl Wimmer (R), was developed in response to a case in Uintah County, in which a 17-year-old paid a man $150 to beat her in an attempt to cause a miscarriage of her seven-month-old fetus. A judge dismissed charges against the teen because a woman cannot be punished under current state law for attempting to arrange an abortion. The state has appealed the ruling.

The bill was unanimously approved by the committee, despite questions raised about whether any woman who miscarries could be investigated under the law. The bill now goes to the full House for consideration (Gehrke, Salt Lake Tribune, 1/26).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

More:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/177679.php

[WhiteTara]

1. okay, I'll bite...when

did abortions become illegal?

[Hello_Kitty]

2. At 7 months they are unless medically indicated. eom

[xchrom]

3. Well there it is -- the thing progressives said

Would have to happen.

[iverglas]

7. and the very thing

that the woman-hugging crowd in the second-wave anti-choice movement (abortion is bad for you, ladies!) have told you over and over and over they would never do.

Huh, eh?

[sharesunited]

4. If the state has a compelling interest in the life of the unborn at SOME point during a pregnancy

then the state surely has a legitimate purpose in prohibiting conduct which contravenes that right.

This is entirely consistent with Roe.

If women do not want to be turned into incubating vessels of the state (i.e. breeding stock) then they need to unite to elect liberal judges, legislators and executives who won't treat them that way.

But as you probably know, a lot of women regard dominion over their bodies as a freedom which is secondary to the protection of fetal babies.

[Warpy]

5. Not quite.

The problem with this stupid law is that it seeks to penalize the woman instead of an illegal abortionist. Such abortionists maimed and killed women in the bad years when abortion was illegal and the state does have an interest in putting them out of business.

However, what they're doing is trying to criminalize seeking an abortion from an unapproved source and this is utterly backwards, blaming a woman for being desperate enough to risk her life because she can't get a legal abortion for financial or other reasons, like being unable to leave her children to travel a long distance to obtain one in a large city.

Clearly this law was written by a MAN.

[iverglas]

8. odd terminology there ...

fetal babies

That's a new one on me!

I'm sorry, I think I gather that your heart is in the right place, that kind of talk is just unnecessarily weird.


If the state has a compelling interest in the life of the unborn at SOME point during a pregnancy ...

It's unfortunate that no state has ever proved that it has such an interest, let alone what that interest is, let alone when and why it overrides women's interests in their own lives and bodies.

Read Roe v. Wade and let me know if anybody finds the answers to those questions there. I never have.


There may be grounds for prohibiting abortion in some circumstances. I've never heard any cited, by anyone, anywhere.

[saracat]

9. I agree with this.The states have never proved interest but they have taken

action despite that. And sorry to be bigoted against an entire state but it figures that this would be Utah which is dominated by a religion that is based on the subjugation of women.
What is frightening is that these freaks have such approbation that they feel they don't even need to "hide" their oppression of women anymore.They are actively calling for punishment of women, and for something over which it is likely a women may not have any control! I don't see them punishing men for being sterile.

[Jax]

6. Women seeking 'illegal healthcare"

must be misogynist racist homophobic white boys saying ths inbred crap.

Abortions ARE HEALTHCARE RACIST MISOGYNIST BIGOTS.

Fuck yourselves and spare us more you scum crap.

[Iris]

10. Salon article about this

http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet/feature/2010/02/25/utah_abortion_bill/index.html

[cthlc513]

11. I agree with the state

What that girl did is absolutely disgusting. Cases like that should be prosecuted.

[PeaceNikki]

12. One stupid girl's bad decision should not be fodder for legislation that criminalizes miscarriage

Or do you agree with HB 12?

[uppityperson]

13. copied for your enjoyment...

"if a female relative of mine was that evil that she would want an abortion, then I would have no problem with her dying in an illegal clinic."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=217&topic_id=8246&mesg_id=8318

[Control-Z]

18. Who the hell wrote that?

Disgusting, and I hope he/she got pizza for it.

[uppityperson]

19. he/she did. Start of this subthread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=217&topic_id=7959&mesg_id=7975
poster is right above here, at this link. Wrote that elsewhere, was deleted, ts'd.

[uppityperson]

14. you believe if a female relative of mine was that evil that she would want an abortion, then I would

"if a female relative of mine was that evil that she would want an abortion, then I would have no problem with her dying in an illegal clinic."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=217&topic_id=8246&mesg_id=8318

[uppityperson]

15. THANK you mods. Very much appreciate it.

[Control-Z]

17. Perhaps the state, her parents, her fears,

her education (or lack there of), her finances, her sexual partner ... prevented her from getting the safe and legal abortion she desired before it became too late and she was driven to such desperate measures. Without knowing anything more about this poor girl, I would bet on circumstances of the sort.

So who should be prosecuted?

[Alison Matusak]

16. Utah is a scary place

Where even Bob Bennett is a RINO.