Don't elect to have your miscarriage in Utah

In Utah, a 17-year-old girl, desperate to end her pregnancy, paid a man $150 to beat the crap out of her in hopes that it would end in miscarriage. The man obliged. He ended up in jail, but no charges were filed against the girl.

This seriously upset Utah legislators. A 17-year-old girl in that much distress and obvious emotional trauma and they can’t send her to prison? That must be remedied.

Thus, the creation and passing of HB 12, which states that, “a person commits criminal homicide if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes the death of another human being, including an unborn child at any stage of its development.”

What does this mean? According to the New York Times, what concerns civil rights activists, women’s rights activists, and many Utah residents, is what could be defined as “reckless.” The way the law is worded, a woman who knows she is pregnant and engages in risky activity such as skiing, drinking alcohol, continuing to live with an abusive mate, driving without a seatbelt, drinking too much caffeine, or running down the stairs, could be tossed into prison for life.

The bill's authors say no, no, surely it wouldn’t be used in cases like those. No, they only mean to persecute girls who were so desperate, so hopeless, that they would actually pay someone to beat them. That’s who they’re really after, they claim.

So, at best, we increase the number of criminals in our society. We add to the guilt and shame of desperate women. And for women who suffer natural miscarriages but wonder, in the middle of dark, cold, lonely nights what they did wrong, we reinforce their tendency to blame themselves.

Maybe, instead of asking themselves, “how can we imprison more people,” the Utah legislature could ask themselves, “how can we help more people?” Here are a few ideas:

1. Offer free and confidential counseling to any woman suffering a miscarriage.
2. Offer free and confidential drug counseling and immunity from criminal charges to any pregnant woman struggling with an addiction.
3. Initiate a program to educate the public about the causes, and mysteries, of miscarriages. Doctors do not know the root cause of most miscarriages, and many women don’t know that a high a percentage of pregnancies end in miscarriage.

Do you need more ideas, Utah?